Walnut Creek Youth Charity Exec Took Money For 49ers Seats, 1st Class Flights: DOJ

WALNUT CREEK, CA — An executive from Pleasant Hill accused of embezzling money from a Walnut Creek charity for underserved youth to pay for first-class flights and premier seats at Golden State Warriors and San Francisco 49ers games was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Federal prosecutors sentenced Carrie Lynn Grant to 27 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $1.6 million dollars from a Northern California charity organization that provides educational materials and programs to prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

A federal grand jury indicted Grant, 62, of Pleasant Hill, on July 22, 2024. Grant pleaded guilty on August 11, 2025, to one count of wire fraud.

Prosecutors said that from November 2017 to June 2023, Grant used her role as the charity's finance manager to pay for first-class air travel, floor seats for a Golden State Warriors game, box seats for a San Francisco 49ers game, and a condominium in Hawaii.

She deposited charity funds into her personal account and falsified records to cover her tracks, according to the plea agreement and court documents stemming from an FBI investigation.

The Court will determine the amount of restitution Grant must pay at a later date. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on March 9. She was also sentenced to a three-year period of supervised release.