Susan Wilson, Former Director of Youth Options Shasta not Exonerated by Anderson Police

Kevin Crye’s Due Diligence Exposes Years of Unauthorized Raises & Perks for Susan Wilson

According to Anderson Police Department investigative reports, Shasta County Board of Supervisors member Kevin Crye (District 1) uncovered inappropriate financial self-dealing by the Executive Director of Youth Options Shasta (YOS), a nonprofit founded in 1996 that promotes a safe and healthy community by providing positive options for youth.

As a new YOS board member in 2024, Crye took his oversight responsibilities seriously. He began examining the organization’s daily operations and structure and asked why Executive Director (ED) Susan Wilson was not involved in operational activities. YOS staff informed him that Wilson had not been in the office for months, yet was still receiving full pay while on medical leave. Crye’s review of documents revealed that her contract did not provide for medical benefits or sick leave. He also discovered that she had received several salary increases that were never approved by the board, and that required annual performance evaluations had not been conducted. An ad hoc committee of three board members was convened to investigate the issues. The committee reviewed documents, conducted interviews, and decided to terminate Wilson due to her improper actions and poor performance.

Susan Wilson - Credit: enjoymagazine.com

Here is a detailed account of what transpired:

Crye brought the concerns to the full Board of Directors, some of whom were opposed to Crye's inquiries; however, an ad hoc committee was convened on September 6, 2024. The committee included current (appointed late 2025/early 2026) Board Chair Kilee Holroyd (a detective with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office) and two other board members. They conducted an internal investigation and questioned Wilson, who admitted to the allegations — specifically, giving herself raises without authorization and granting herself medical benefits in violation of her contract and the organization's bylaws. An email summarizing the findings was sent to the remaining 17 board members.

On September 12, 2024, Crye presented evidence of alleged embezzlement of organizational funds to the Redding Police Department. The case was later transferred to the Anderson Police Department due to a conflict of interest. The apparent conflict of interest may have stemmed from the fact that Redding Police Captain Ron Icely was serving on the Board of Directors for Youth Options Shasta at the time Crye reported the allegations.

On October 25, 2024, Crye met with Anderson Police Department investigators for a recorded interview. Wilson’s employment contract, dated July 28, 2011, stated that her salary would be $31,500 for 1,080 hours of work over a 45-week period, with no benefits, vacation, or sick leave included. In October 2022, her monthly salary increased from $2,625 to $3,308. Crye's evidence showed that the 2023/2024 budget listed salaries for the organization as a whole as a lump sum, with no breakdown by position or individual.

Two separate YOS committee reports were written by board members. The first detailed a September 6, 2024, interview with Wilson and concluded that she should be immediately relieved of her duties as Executive Director. A second report authored by another board member stated that the “Wilson's lack of awareness of the severity of the issues, deflection of responsibility, a casual approach to serious matters (e.g., salary raises) suggested that the problems within the organization may be worse than originally thought.”

According to the police investigation, the Board Chair was responsible for conducting an annual performance evaluation, which had not been conducted for 11 years—a clear violation of the organization’s bylaws. The name of the Board Chair during that timeframe was redacted from police reports.

On January 15, 2025, Anderson Police contacted another board committee member who had investigated staff concerns about Wilson’s poor performance. Crye had brought those staff concerns to the attention of the full board. This board member reported that the committee found Wilson “brazen” when questioned about her alleged violation of the contract and the bylaws. The committee recommended that her employment be terminated immediately.

On January 30, 2025, a Superior Court judge authorized a search warrant for personnel records. The warrant was served the next day, and investigators obtained pay stubs from the organization covering 2011 through 2024. The records included detailed breakdowns of mileage reimbursements, health benefit payments, and salary payments.

On March 19, 2025, Anderson Police interviewed Wilson. She claimed she had the same benefits as the previous Executive Director, stating, “Yeah, I asked for medical reimbursement for my medical fees.”

On March 24, 2025, investigators contacted the prior Executive Director, who served from 2002 to 2011. Contrary to Wilson’s statement, he confirmed that he did not receive medical benefits or medical cost reimbursements during his tenure. He also did not accrue sick or vacation time.

During the March 19 interview, when asked who approved the medical reimbursement payments she received, Wilson stated, “I’ll be honest, I approved them. I didn’t ask anyone else. Other people knew about them.”

The police report also highlighted $15,499.90 in mileage reimbursements received over the years. This was viewed as suspicious by APD because Wilson primarily worked from home and only went into the office about once a month to sign checks and preside over board meetings.

Pay stubs showed that Wilson began receiving health benefit payments in December 2020, totaling $21,421.00 over almost four years. Unauthorized salary increases totaled $15,709.00. Combined, the health benefit payments and salary increases amounted to $37,121. The police report described these actions as "a breach of the organization’s trust and a deprivation of its intended use of charitable funds." Wilson did not offer to reimburse the nonprofit for the misuse of funds.

The case was turned over to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, which stated there was not sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges of embezzlement (503 PC) or employer grand theft wages (487M(A) PC), even though Wilson had admitted to the ad hoc committee and to the APD that she had given herself unauthorized raises and medical benefits and was very familiar with the by-laws of the organization as she was the sole person who amended the by-laws on multiple occasions. The Anderson Police Department officially closed the 18-month investigation, stating in their May 7 Press Release that "Investigators were able to determine that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Wilson had fraudulently taken property from Youth Options Shasta while in a position of trust."

The increased payments to Wilson were obscured from the YOS board because salaries were presented as a lump sum in the overall budget, which had increased due to new funding for additional program staff. A board member signed the checks, possibly without questioning the amounts. The police report indicates that staff members did not report performance problems to the full board out of fear of retaliation or appearing insubordinate to Wilson.

These patterns are all too familiar — how lax oversight can allow serious issues to develop in an organization. Was District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett correct in not taking the case to trial, or should a jury have been presented the evidence? The APD, at one point, believed they had gathered sufficient evidence for prosecution.  Wilson was not exonerated, as some local news outlets implied and some social media groups have reported. What is clear after reviewing the redacted police reports is that Kevin Crye took the kind of initiative all board members should exercise when tasked with oversight of nonprofit organizations. He should be applauded for his diligence in getting to the root of the matter and exposing issues that needed to be addressed to maintain accountability for taxpayer and donor funds.

Crye is running to retain his seat on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors for District 1 against Erin Resner (Redding City Council Member and Business Owner) and Richard Gallardo (Election Integrity Advocate and former CAL FIRE Engineer and Military Police Officer). It is important to note that Resner served on the Board of Directors of YOS from 2012 to 2021, overlapping Wilson's tenure by almost 10 years, and there is no indication that she ever noticed the financial irregularities.

Sources:

Anderson Police Department Case Reports # APD24-002371-1; APD24-002371-2; APD24-002371-001OR; APD24-002371-003OR; APD24-002371-004OR

Record Searchlight, April 28, 2026, "Investigation ongoing months after Redding nonprofit leader's dismissal" by Drew Askeland

Record Searchlight, May 8, 2026, "Police investigation of Youth Options Shasta exec dropped"

Action News Now, May 7, 2026, "Anderson Police Department concludes their investigation into allegations of embezzlement against Susan Wilson"

Anderson Police Department's Press Release of May 7, 2026

Telephone Interview with Kevin Crye on May 10, 2026, for clarification that Kilee Holroyd was on the ad hoc committee