San Diego DA Blasts Lax Oversight After Former Director Accused of Embezzlement

SAN DIEGO — San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan criticized county officials for "systemic failures" in oversight after a former nonprofit executive was charged with embezzling more than $134,000 in public funds.

Amy Knox, the former finance manager of the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego, faces six criminal counts, including embezzlement of public funds and fraudulent appropriation of property. Prosecutors allege Knox used the money for plastic surgery, luxury clothing, and a vacation to Hawaii.

The charges were filed nearly eight months after the county canceled its contract with the organization. The nonprofit was tasked with distributing Narcan and testing street drugs to prevent fentanyl-related deaths.

Stephan said a 2023 county audit identified several financial "red flags." Staff also discovered that Knox had a prior conviction for embezzling more than $500,000 from a previous employer. Despite these warnings, the county awarded the nonprofit a second contract one year later.

County officials responded that they "referred the information to the District Attorney's Office and continue to cooperate" with the investigation.

Knox has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.

The indictment of Amy Knox on corruption charges is far more than an isolated case of white-collar crime; it is a profound exposure of the systemic oversight failures plaguing San Diego County’s administrative apparatus. While the allegations against Knox are significant, the more damaging narrative emerging is District Attorney Summer Stephan’s scorched-earth critique of the county’s internal governance.

Stephan’s allegations point to a fundamental breakdown in fiduciary duty. It is difficult to reconcile standard procurement protocols with the fact that the county continued to funnel taxpayer funds to an organization whose chief financial officer held a prior conviction for felony embezzlement. That this relationship persisted even after a 2023 internal audit raised explicit red flags suggests a catastrophic failure of internal controls, if not a deliberate disregard for fiscal safeguards.

Furthermore, the District Attorney’s 2025 assertion that county employees were "fearful" of cooperating with the investigation reveals a troubling institutional culture. Such an environment suggests that the barriers to transparency are not merely procedural but structural, pointing to a lack of robust whistleblower protections and a potential climate of administrative intimidation.

The county’s official response—a boilerplate commitment to "cooperation" and "process improvement"—does little to address the erosion of public trust. For San Diego taxpayers, the failure of the very systems designed to protect public assets is a breach of the social contract. Moving forward, the Knox case will serve as a definitive litmus test for San Diego County’s leadership. The ultimate verdict will be rendered not just on the defendant’s guilt, but on whether the county can implement the rigorous administrative accountability required to restore its shattered credibility.

For San Diego’s Vietnamese-American community—a population anchored by small business owners and taxpayers—this situation raises serious questions about local government transparency and accountability. It threatens to erode public trust in how the county manages and allocates its budget, especially regarding funds for essential public health services.