Unsatisfied with lack of charges against former nonprofit director, Crye takes aim at Shasta’s district attorney

At the May 5 Shasta County Board meeting, all of the supervisors except Kevin Crye were wearing cowboy hats in honor of the Redding Rodeo. The public was riled up. Several community members lambasted Crye, and two other board members, for their recent refusal to censure Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis, after a county investigation found he had threatened his staff.

Meanwhile Crye, who’s said he can’t be sure whether the substantiated investigation findings against Curtis are true since he wasn’t there to see for himself, used his allotted speaking time to accuse someone else of a crime. 

“Susan Wilson admitted to taking over $37,000,” Crye said, referring to the former executive director of the nonprofit Youth Options Shasta, which focuses on violence and drug prevention among local youth. Crye, who sits on the board along with other public officials, held up a print-out of a police report for what he alleged was Wilson’s financial malfeasance Speaking definitively, Crye said, “I have a really hard time with people who steal. I have a harder time when they steal from children.”

But evidence to prove that Wilson stole hasn’t been found, according to the Anderson Police Department and the Shasta District Attorney’s Office. Over the next week both agencies made separate public statements clearly articulating they did not find sufficient evidence to charge Wilson with a crime. 

APD said investigators combed over years of financial records and other Youth Options documentation, and found that pay raises for employees, including Wilson, were approved by the nonprofit’s board and included in annual budgets. The statement also said that all checks made out to Wilson were signed by other board members or staff members, not Wilson herself. The investigation noted that while board bylaws were not appropriately followed, investigators didn’t find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Wilson broke any laws.

But Crye hasn’t let the matter go, alleging there’s more to the story. In an interview with a reporter last week, Crye contradicted APD’s statement, claiming that private conversations indicate the department had enough evidence to pursue a case against Wilson, and that District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett was the one who didn’t follow up to prosecute the case. Asked why Bridgett would fail to do so, Crye said he couldn’t be sure, calling Bridgett a “terrible manager” and referencing the current exodus of attorneys from her office. Over recent weeks, some of those attorneys have provided video statements for Crye’s campaign opponent, blaming Crye, not Bridgett for their departures.

Bridgett addressed allegations like Crye’s in a broadly-worded statement released by her office shortly after APD’s statement.

“Allegations that decisions in this case …were influenced by political relationships, personal friendships, or community status are offensive, unprofessional and inaccurate,” the press release stated. 

The accusations against Wilson gained traction two years ago, when an alternative media source wrote about Wilson, alleging that she had embezzled funds. The story was written by  Chriss Street, for a news-style substack called Mountain Top Times. Street’s initial story alleged that Wilson had used her authority to “secretly give herself a series of compensation and faux benefit increases of at least $30,000.” The Mountain Top Times is part of Mountain Top Media, a for-profit media company with significant financial ties to Crye’s political campaigns. 

Wilson could not be reached to answer follow-up questions about when she departed the organization — but indicated during an earlier interview that she left the organization voluntarily. A review of Youth Options’ 990s shows her salary listed at about $40,000 in 2023, increasing to $46,000 in 2024 and back down to $40,000 in 2025.

Over two of those years, the nonprofit was also paying a salary to another executive director, the 990s show. Jennifer Coulter, who began at a salary almost double Wilson’s in 2024, was paid $72,000. She moved up to $77,000 in 2025.

Reflecting back on the last several years since accusations of impropriety first began, Wilson said it’s been painful.  

“Those two years were difficult for me,” Wilson told Shasta Scout. “I wanted something good for children — and when that was taken away from me because other people didn’t know whether to trust me or not — it just plain hurt.”