Is Chinatown Community Development Center Executive Director Malcolm Yeung using holding entities for self-enrichment?
A March 19 ethics complaint alleges Yeung didn't report ownership interest in 18 entities tied to the organization
Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) Executive Director Malcolm Yeung is potentially using holding entities tied to CCDC and city money for self-enrichment through weak points in a dense corporate structure, according to a complaint filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission on March 19, 2025.
I’ve tracked myriad problems with nonprofit contracts in the city for years, and have pointed out the numerous issues related to transparency and accountability — for example, how easy it is for the politically connected to exploit those many loopholes. CCDC has tens of millions of dollars in city contracts, and a 2024 independent audit of their financial structure for the period ending December 2022 by Lindquist, von Husen, & Joyce LLP indicated that blindspots exist where a managing individual could use one of the organization’s 29 affiliated LLCs for self-enrichment. Yeung is the sole manager-member of 18 of the 29 LLCs.
A 2022 lawsuit against Yeung and other managing members of CCDC also alleged that Yeung diverted “income, revenue, and profits” from the other entities to themselves, and used those entities as conduits for their “personal business, property, and affairs.” These claims appear to be substantiated by the Lindquist, von Husen, & Joyce independent Auditor’s Report from July 10, 2024.
WRONGFUL DISCHARGE AND ALTER EGO ENTITIES
Under Yeung’s leadership, CCDC has been the subject of two wrongful discharge complaints. One of these complaints — filed by former CCDC supervisor Danishia Davis in 2022 — also names Yeung as an individual defendant as well as Fady Zoubi and Cindy Louie as defendants. In the original complaint, Davis alleged that Yeung, Zoubi, and Louie were operating at least 10 “alter ego entities” through CCDC, as well as CCDC itself. It specifically accused Yeung, Zoubi, and Louie of incurring “alter ego liability” through their use of CCDC and other entities, or when a “company is used by an individual or individuals, or by another corporation, to perpetrate a fraud, circumvent a statue, or accomplish some other wrongful or inequitable purpose.”
Yeung remains the sole manager-member of 18 of the 29 CCDC-controlled LLCs and is the agent for service/contact for 10 of the 11 remaining entities, yet Yeung’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) 700 forms (Statements of Economic Information) filed between 2019 and the present do not disclose these entities.
The Lindquist, von Husen, & Joyce LLP audit contained several notes on potential weaknesses in CCDC’s internal controls, including evidence that potentially “significant” amounts of unreported revenue is exchanged between CCDC and these controlled entities. The audit also found the activities of the entities included in the statements were shown in “gross amounts,” and that “significant inter-company accounts and transactions are eliminated in the consolidated totals,” which is noteworthy because both are processes by which an individual could use a CCDC-controlled LLC for self-enrichment.
TWELVE CCDC EMPLOYEES MAKE NEARLY $2.5 MILLION IN TOTAL
Yeung took over as executive director of CCDC on April 10, 2020, after serving as the Deputy Director of Programs and Policy Manager since 2009. In typical nonprofit fashion, he receives a six-figure salary — $262,100 plus an additional $50,667 in “other compensation.” The top 12 employees of CCDC bring in nearly $2.5 million in total salaries and benefits. According to their 2023 tax filing, CCDC had revenue of $26,766,775, expenses of $33,464,623, and net income of minus $6,697,848. Current total assets are $163 million and total liabilities are $131 million.
Yeung is currently president of the San Francisco Airport Commission, appointed by former mayor London Breed to serve from 2019 to 2026. According to his bio on SFO’s website, in 2011 he served as Senior Advisor for housing to Mayor Ed Lee.
Yeung also serves on the Board of Directors of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco and the Portsmouth Square Garage Corporation, and serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the API Council, “a coalition of over 50 non-profit organizations serving San Francisco’s Asian American community.”
Malcom Yeung Ethics Complaint, March 19, 2025:
Malcom Yeung 2024 Statement of Economic Interest:
Just like finding an ant or cockroach, there is never just one! Keep up the great work.😎