San Francisco, CA – Today, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Lilian Elizabeth Williams, 52, of Tiburon, was charged for embezzling over $1 million from a local small business.  Ms. Williams is charged with three counts of grand theft (PC 487) along with allegations related to the magnitude of the loss. She was arraigned on March 17, 2026, and pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied the allegations.

According to court records, starting in 2018, Ms. Williams began working for a small, family-run business as a bookkeeper doing payroll. Over the course of six years, she allegedly used her position within the company and knowledge of payroll systems to steal from her employer. She accomplished this by allegedly creating two employee profiles for herself, thus collecting two paychecks every month. She also used the payroll system to allegedly create unauthorized categories of payments, including company loans and reimbursements, which she used to extract money from the victim’s bank account.

The total loss in these cases is over $1,000,000.

Ms. Williams was released on her own recognizance with the condition that she not provide accounting services during the pendency of this case. Her next court date is March 30, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., in Department 12 to set a date for the preliminary hearing.

Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information regarding this case, is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.

Court Number: 26005951