Padding up your résumé? That’s nothing compared to a years-long scheme undertaken by a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency employee who scored merchandise and tickets to luxury events through a fake job title.
An SFMTA IT administrator pretended to be a manager at the agency, leveraging his false position to attend more than a dozen sporting events — some in luxury suites — through companies that expected to do business with the city, Ethics Commission investigators said Tuesday. The employee also participated in around 500 webinars using his fake credentials, racking up thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in exchange for attending the online gatherings.
The findings were reported Tuesday in an Ethics Commission filing that accuses Charlie Chiem of violating a long list of city and agency rules, including accepting gifts from restricted sources and using city resources for non-work purposes. Investigators said Chiem first started attending webinars in 2015.
The case against Chiem will be heard this year at an Ethics Commission hearing; he could then face fines. Chiem does not face criminal charges at this time.
Between 2021 and 2023, Chiem accepted tickets to at least 14 business-sponsored games of the Giants, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Sharks, and 49ers. The sponsors included Cisco, Okta, and Strata. In some cases, Chiem accepted complimentary Uber rides and an additional ticket for a guest.
Investigators estimate that the total value of the gifts involving sporting events was $4,000 to $6,000. The city said Chiem knew the companies provided the gifts with the intention of obtaining contracts with the city. However, he did not push for the SFMTA to do business with the companies because he did not want it to appear he was “being bribed for a contract,” according to the filing.
On Feb. 14, 2023, Chiem received an email from an IT service management company representative thanking him for attending a Golden State Warriors game. The message noted that it was hard “to beat that view from the hospitality suite and all the great food, wine.”
In addition to the games, Chiem attended hundreds of webinars during work hours between May 2021 and March 2024, receiving around $10,000 in merchandise for his attendance from Microsoft, Nutanix, Proofpoint, and other companies.
Investigators said Chiem would at times join multiple webinars in one day; he showed up at eight within three days in 2022. As an attendee, he received gift cards, Uber credits, wireless earphones.
Chiem also created fake city email accounts with the names Stephanie Lin and Pete Gon, which he used to register for webinars and receive duplicate gifts.
“The city has rules in place to ensure city employees are using city resources for the benefit of the city and the people who live here, not for an employee’s own personal gain,” Michael Canning, the Ethics Commission’s policy and legislative affairs manager, said in a statement. “Similarly, the city prohibits employees from accepting gifts from people who are trying to do business with their city department. These rules help ensure tax dollars are being spent as intended and that city decisions are being made in the best interest of the city, and not for the benefit of any individual employee.”
In a statement, the SFMTA said Chiem resigned in June 2024. “The SFMTA works hard to ensure that employees understand and abide by all ethics laws and acts quickly to respond to any alleged violations of them.” Attempts to reach Chiem were unsuccessful.
Investigators also accuse Chiem of lying to them. During a June 4, 2024, interview, Chiem denied using a fake title but later admitted to it when presented with evidence, investigators say.
It’s not the first time an SFMTA employee has been accused of misconduct. In March, the district attorney’s office charged a transit worker and her girlfriend with defrauding Section 8 housing funds by falsely claiming they had 17 children.