Napa Mom Accused Of Fraud, Theft Via Phony Lunch Fundraiser: PD

NAPA, CA — A Napa mother whom authorities suspected was profiting off her son's goodwill by running a phony school-lunch fundraiser and pocketing the proceeds was arrested and charged Thursday with 20 criminal counts, officials with both the Napa Police Department and Napa County District Attorney's Office said.

Kylie Jean Kirkpatrick, 43, was taken into custody at her Napa home and was booked into the Napa County Jail, where she was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Kirkpatrick's son was 9 years old when he garnered national notoriety for using his allowance to pay off his third-grade classmates' lunch debts.

Now his mother is facing six felony counts of grand theft and 12 counts of misdemeanor theft following a months-long investigation, according to news releases from the district attorney's office and police department.

"The son is a victim in this sad case," Napa police Lt. Gary Pitkin told Patch.

Kirkpatrick's son, who is now 10 years old, was named a 2019 Time Magazine Hero Of The Year because he "used his saved allowance to pay off his grade's debt, about $74— ­becoming the face of a movement to end lunch-money debt."

And in October when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation putting an end to "lunch-shaming" by guaranteeing students a state-funded meal of their choice even if their parents or guardians have unpaid fees, the governor thanked the Napa boy for bringing the issue to national attention.

Pitkin said the police department began looking into Kirkpatrick in January when it received a tip she was running a fundraiser to benefit the Napa Valley Unified School District's school lunch program, but that the fundraising campaign was not coordinated or sanctioned by the district.

In their search for evidence, Pitkin said investigators served warrants on several financial institutions, electronic payment platforms, email providers and social media platforms.

The investigation also involved interviews with several people.

"Earlier this week, Napa police presented their criminal investigation to the Napa County District Attorney's Office for review and potential filing of criminal charges against Kirkpatrick," Pitkin said.

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced Thursday that her office filed a criminal complaint against Kirkpatrick based on thefts and fraud dating back to May 24, 2019, and continuing through March 17, two days prior to her arrest.

The charges include six counts of felony grand theft of personal property, one felony count of obtaining aid by misrepresentation, 12 misdemeanor counts of petty theft and one misdemeanor count of causing a false financial statement, for a total of 20 criminal charges.

Napa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jodi Dell declined to provide further details Thursday about the charges.

Dell did note that each felony count of grand theft represents an amount greater than $950.

Kirkpatrick's son, with the approval of Napa County Child Welfare Services, was placed with a family member Thursday, Pitkin said.

The lieutenant declined to provide further comment.

The Napa Police Department said anyone who donated money or goods to Kirkpatrick between May 20, 2019, and March 18, 2020, should contact School Resource Officer Darlene Elia at 707-258-7880, ext. 5211, or DElia@CityOfNapa.org.

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