SEATTLE – King County fraud was a hot topic this past summer.
The story is still developing as investigators look into possible fraud involving nonprofits meant to help vulnerable youth in the Seattle area.
On this episode of the “Seattle News Weekly” podcast, FOX 13 Seattle Anchor Hana Kim sits down with Omari Salisbury of Converge Media to discuss a recent scandal involving King County nonprofits accused of taking advantage of taxpayers. The potential fraud, waste and abuse was found through an audit by King County Auditor Kymber Waltmunson.
Big picture view:
The podcast opens with the fallout from an audit examining funds distributed by the Department of Community and Human Services to several nonprofits. While the grants were originally intended to support four youth programs, the audit found that weak oversight created opportunities for potentially tens of millions of dollars to be lost to fraud.
Omari provides an insightful business owner’s perspective on the situation, along with a sense of compassion for the initial intentions of the grants.
He notes that when news like this breaks, “everything is painted with a very broad brush,” and while King County had lax controls, that did not inherently mean there are other nonprofits doing the right thing and doing a good job. He also made it clear that DCHS may have lacked oversight, but they were not “directly entangled in some ongoing fraudulent action,” with grantees.
“That being said though … I mean, it’s horrible,” Omari notes.
In the podcast, he explains that Converge Media focuses a lot of its reporting on the very communities meant to benefit from these grant funds.
“It’s very alarming to [Converge Media reporters], because we see what’s happening out there on the streets in real time, and we see the difference that resources can make … it’s infuriating to know there was that little oversight, that little lack of control on these funds— these taxpayer funds,” Omari noted.
How did the fraud begin?
The backstory:
Omari explains the barrier to receiving a grant was “intentionally high,” redlining certain communities out of grant access. He describes what happened as a polar shift; the county swung the pendulum too far in the other direction in an effort to break down the barrier, which unintentionally removed almost all barriers to entry.
Omari compares the difficulty in granting access to the events that follow a chicken dinner invite. Getting invited to something, discussing a great opportunity over a nice dinner, but topped off with signing a 400-page document in order to fulfill the great opportunity.
“And …it was decades of that,” Omari explains.
Who is held accountable?
What they’re saying:
During the podcast, the conversation shifts to: who is responsible?
Omari points out that while the DCHS may have had its “heart in the right place,” the fraud happened on the watch of the current King County Council and the executive’s office.
“The biggest question I want to know is who is going to hold the people who stole from us accountable? The people that stole from young people in King County … those on the edges, those most marginalized, those who just need a break. They were stolen from, and we’ll see how this final audit plays out,” he said.
What is the ‘Reclaiming the Village’ event at Garfield High School?
As the podcast shifts into its final gear, Kim and Omari discuss the “Reclaiming the Village” event at Garfield High School.
At Garfield, students and staff are still grappling with the trauma of the June 2024, shooting of student Amari Murphy, along with declining test scores and rising dropout rates.
“Reclaiming the Village is really a callout because it takes a village to raise a child, and for decades in the Central District, before displacement and gentrification, there really was a whole village around the school” Omari notes. “We need our community, especially that big Garfield community, to be engaged in what’s happening with our students on campus.”
Omari continues to note that “if we’re not walking the mile in the shoes of these young people, then we won’t understand their challenges, and we’re not able to help them.”
The podcast concludes with a discussion on Saturday’s “Reclaiming the Village” event, along with Converge Media’s first 2026 episode of “The Big O Show” airing Jan. 12.
Seattle News Weekly is a podcast that goes in depth and gives context to the stories that matter to the western Washington community. Check back every Thursday for a new episode on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Audible, or YouTube.
The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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