A Private Investigator’s Report: Jonathan Vernick Has Stolen $100 From the Taxpayers of San Francisco

Below is a brief sketch from a report I received from a private investigator in 2017. Investigators in this case may be able to use the references to access possible leads.


1. According to IRS 990s (these are forms non-profits file) as of 2015 Baker Places owns $47 million in property and buildings. Note that all properties own by Baker Places are donated from the City and County of San Francisco. 


2. One source of the donated properties Baker Places owns are the 15 (or so) apartments which serve as co-ops for clients. Except for a few long-term co-ops, these apartments are recycled with the apartments being sold when a new apartment becomes available. In general, the apartments, houses, or buildings are donated by the Mayor’s Office on Housing and Development. The Investigator was unclear if there are other departments in the City which donates buildings or if other outside sources have donated to Baker Places. If one values these buildings at $1 million each this accounts for a present value of $15 million. Of course, since the co-ops are recycled Baker Places has owned on the order of 40 co-ops over the past 30 years (this is the period of Jonathan Vernick’s tenure as Executive Director of Baker Places) which places the total value at $40 million in today’s terms.


3. A second source of buildings are part of the mental health system in which clients are placed in a 90-day treatment program before being referred to other resources. These include Grove Street House, Baker Street House, Robertson House, San Jose Place, Jo Ruffin. Since these are large building complexes holding 20-30 clients they are worth several million dollars each. The total value of these treatment centers is valued at $20 million.


4. A fourth source of buildings include:  Joe Haley Detox Program, which treats those with acute drug addiction;  Fergunson House, which treats those who are HIV+ and have drug addictions; Acceptance Place which house gay and bisexual men. These 3 buildings have an estimated value of $10 million.  


5. Baker Places also owns its own office at 120 Page Street. Previously, this space had been known as West Side Lodge and housed 20-30 clients for 90 day periods. Today the apartments have been rented out; however, I have been informed by Baker Places insiders that Vernick has been trying to sell this building. As of 2015, it had an estimated value of $3.4 million. Please note again: This building was donated to Baker Places and now it appears as though Vernick is trying to sell it. 


6. Baker Places first donated building was the Castro County Club located at 18^th street and Castro. It serves as a 12-step clean and sober meeting places for those who are struggling with various drug addictions. From what I can gather from the Investigator, it appears that Vernick sold the building a few years back, then rented the building from the new owner. Then the building was sold a second time and this time the new owner demanded rent on the order of $600,000 per year. Vernick was unwilling to pay this rent and thus Baker Places lost its historical legacy which began circa 1969. In today’s terms, the building is worth on the order of $6 million. 


7. Investigators looking into this case will want to look at the real estate holdings of Pablo Tisker of Bernstein Realty. It appears as though Vernick and Tisker have had a tangled history for the past 20 years (or so)  in which Vernick sells or exchanges property with Mr. Tisker. It appears as though there are 20 buildings which are owned by Mr. Tisker but were bought or exchanged with Baker Places. The estimated worth of these buildings are between $20 million to $50. Because the Private Investigator was unable to piece together all the various holdings, I am using the lower estimate of $20 million of properties which were donated to Baker Places, but which are subsequently are owned by Mr. Tisker. See: Home - Bernstein Realty Property Management.

8. Investigators into this case might look at Jonathan Vernick’s company Ljv Holding Llc.  For additional insights, please see Jonathan Vernick Et Al v. Mynette Boykin :: Superior Court of California ...


Summary: Baker Places has acquired property and buildings worth an estimated $100 million over the nearly 30 years of Jonathan Vernick’s tenure as Executive Director of Baker Places. Many of the buildings have been sold or traded while others are subject to being sold at Vernick’s whim. The term “stolen” is used in a moral sense, not a legal one, since it is unclear what the legal status of donated buildings which are to be used to house clients which are then subsequently sold. Should the San Francisco Board of Supervisors wish to defund Baker Places, they will need to ask the City’s Attorney to place a lien on donated buildings so that Vernick cannot sell them. Investigators of this case will need to look at the real estate holdings of Pablo Tisker of Bernstein as they relate to the holdings of Baker Places. An unknown is whether Vernick has comingled Baker Places funds with his private company Ljv Holding Llc. Also, it is unknown if Vernick has other ties to other companies or has made real estate exchanges with various real estate brokers other than Mr. Tisker.