Seattle leaders demand accountability for mismanaged homelessness funds

King County homelessness authority faces scrutiny after $13M audit finding

A forensic audit finding $13 million unaccounted for at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority is raising questions about a possible criminal investigation.

SEATTLE - As Seattle and King County councilmembers call for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to be dissolved, questions loom about whether the mismanaged millions could turn into a criminal investigation.

With millions unaccounted for, local leaders are furious. There's no doubt taxpayers are as well.

At least one King County councilmember said the records make it tough to match anything.

What they're saying:

"It's outrageous and people, taxpayers should be angry about it. I'm angry about it," King County Councilmember Rod Dembowksi said.

As Dembowski calls for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to be dissolved, there's a question of where this could go next.

FOX 13 Seattle asked if the forensic audit finding $13 million unaccounted for could lead to a criminal investigation.

"The latest audit said the state of the records was so poor that while they didn't find any fraud, they couldn't be sure that there wasn't any fraud," Dembowski said.

We obtained an internal email showing the KCRHA's CEO, Kelly Kinnison, told the Governing Board on April 22 about issues tracking every dollar spent.

City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who worked for the KCRHA for years, released a joint statement with City Councilmember Dionne Foster that said in part, "The findings are serious, unacceptable and demand immediate action."

Intense scrutiny is only growing.

"We need to make sure that the money we allocate for that is actually going to house folks and help folks," City Councilmember Maritza Rivera said during a press conference on Thursday.

Mayor Katie Wilson said the city is pursuing "immediate corrective action".

In a statement, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said in part, "Solving King County's significant homelessness crisis requires honesty."

Whether it's a case of bad accounting or something worse, Dembowski said you're paying the price.

"We've seen a lack of oversight, but I, at least to date, the documents in the audit seem to point to incompetence rather than mal-intent," he said.

Right now, there is no indication of a criminal investigation, but local leaders we talked with said they will be keeping a close eye on where the developments go.

MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

Fircrest veteran says he was scammed of $28K from 'veteran-owned' business

Sedro-Woolley family loses home, pets in fire, community steps in to help

Lime 'devastated' by Seattle crash critically injuring 2 riders

Washington wolf population hits record high in 2025

Starbucks announces its corporate office expansion in Nashville, TN

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.