{"id":45107,"date":"2025-11-14T11:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T19:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45107"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T19:48:15","slug":"in-texts-new-s-f-supervisor-wrote-she-paid-workers-under-the-table-skimped-on-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/in-texts-new-s-f-supervisor-wrote-she-paid-workers-under-the-table-skimped-on-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"In texts, new S.F. supervisor wrote she paid workers \u2018under the table,\u2019 skimped on taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New texts raise more questions about Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s vetting of newest supervisor, Beya Alcaraz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A by\u00a0Joe Eskenazi<\/a><\/strong> November 13, 2025 (MissionLocal.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Mayor Daniel Lurie and his District 4 Supervisor appointee Beya Alcaraz take a merchant walk on Irving Street on Nov. 7, 2025. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Update: Four hours after publication of this piece, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Beya Alcaraz had resigned as supervisor<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In a series of text messages obtained by Mission Local<\/em>, Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s new pick<\/a> to lead District 4, Beya Alcaraz<\/a>, wrote that she paid some of her former pet shop workers \u201cunder the table,\u201d apparently misreporting her business expenditures and skimping on paying taxes by doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mission<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter<\/strong> below.Sign up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She texted that her taxes \u201cwill be less, since I pay people under the table now\u2026\u201d and estimated that her business held perhaps $75,000 in cash \u201con top of the reported revenue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alcaraz also wrote of writing off dinners and drinks with friends or \u201cclients\u201d as a business expense, and then sometimes receiving cash back from her companions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mission Local <\/em>verified that the messages are from Alcaraz\u2019s cell number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accounting professionals said that while business owners cutting corners and writing off personal expenses is common, the potential tax-dodging is more serious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Back<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jerry Dratler, a retired accountant and the former chief accounting officer of Williams Sonoma, said that behavior of this sort is \u201cpretty prevalent\u201d in this and every city, among businesses small, medium and large. He said the practice of overstating business expenses by paying for non-work events \u2014 and then being remunerated in cash \u2014  was \u201ca foot fault.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he saw Alcaraz\u2019s texts as tantamount to an admission that she filed false tax returns \u2014 \u201cand that\u2019s pretty damn serious. That goes beyond being a sloppy business operator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Texts between new District 4 supervisor Beya Alcaraz and Julia Baran, who took over Alcaraz\u2019s former pet store.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lurie on Friday tapped Alcaraz<\/a> for the District 4 seat left vacant for 20 days after the departure of recalled former supervisor Joel Engardio. The March 28 text messages further cloud the appointment of Alcaraz, a 29-year-old with no experience in government or serious involvement in community service. It also raises more questions about the vetting and decision-making process by Lurie to select Alcaraz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rarefield<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, Alcaraz said, \u201cI don\u2019t owe a dollar in taxes, and I paid the young people who came to work in my store because I believe in my core that young people in my community and every community deserve to be paid for their work. I worked seven days a week to keep my business open through the pandemic and always ensure that my employees were paid, and I\u2019m going to use that experience every day as I work to make life easier for small businesses and families in the Sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A statement from the mayor\u2019s office read \u201cSupervisor Alcaraz knows how hard it is to run a small business in San Francisco. She\u2019s going to bring the same grit and determination she brought to her business to her new role advocating for families and small businesses in the Sunset.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor\u2019s office did not answer questions regarding if it knew about Alcaraz\u2019s alleged business practices, or condoned them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ad<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lurie has rejected the notion that his nomination was a misguided or cavalier endeavor. Alcaraz was \u201cabsolutely\u201d vetted,\u201d he told <\/a>a gaggle of reporters including Channel 7\u2019s Monica Madden<\/a>. \u201cShe can\u2019t help that she\u2019s 29 years old.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Mayor Daniel Lurie and his District 4 Supervisor appointee Beya Alcaraz take a merchant walk on Irving Street on Nov. 7, 2025. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The March 28 text message exchange was between Alcaraz and Julia Baran, who took over Alcaraz\u2019s pet store, the Animal Connection, from Alcaraz in May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baran\u2019s experience taking over Animal Connection from Alcaraz was also the crux of a story published by the San Francisco Standard <\/em>on Nov. 10<\/a> \u2014 Baran shared documents showing that Animal Connection \u201cwas in the red by tens of thousands of dollars\u201d between 2020 and 2023. Baran also spoke of and shared videos depicting  Animal Connection as beset with rodent infestations, a foul odor, \u201csqualor\u201d and a stash of dead pets sitting in the freezer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"11\/1-11\/27\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the prospective buyer Baran asked Alcaraz about work schedules for pet shop staffers, Alcaraz noted that \u201cmy under the tables come in as needed. And then I have another under the table seasonal hire when the boarding gets busy!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the text exchange, Alcaraz said she estimated there was an additional $50,000 to $75,000 in cash on top of the reported revenue in the business\u2019 ledger. Baran replied \u201cBetween the two under the table you\u2019re paying them about $30K a year, so I figured it was at least that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the business listed expenses of $35,000 for taxes and licenses, Alcaraz texted \u201cIt will be less, since I pay people under the table now, but that\u2019s payroll taxes and sales tax mostly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dratler noted that it is \u201cnot illegal per se\u201d to keep messy books. \u201cBut if you use that information to file your tax return?\u201d That, he says, is different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharky Laguana, the former president of the small business commission, said that the behavior described in the text messages is unambiguously illegal. But he said he still has sympathy for Alcaraz and all small business owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe law requires employers to collect and remit taxes for payroll and withhold workers\u2019 taxes. There is no dispute that is what the law requires,\u201d he said. \u201cWith that said, there are a lot of cases where the ability to get paid under the table helps people who are on the edge of poverty. It helps people who are immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of paying workers under the table, Alcaraz wrote in the texts that \u201cI also live off a big portion of the non cash revenue. I spend expense [sic] a bit of money on my personal life so I can use it as a tax deduction. E.g. I pay for my dinner and drinks with my friends or \u2018clients\u2019 as a business expense and then they may or may not pay me back in cash. When you see meals and entertainment, office meals, travel, etc that\u2019s usually what that\u2019s for.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baran is 26 and, like Alcaraz, a city native. She said she is not paying workers under the table or writing off nights out as business expenses. Following publication of the Standard <\/em>article on Friday, she was contacted by the mayor\u2019s office. After she shared several photos and videos of wretched conditions in the pet shop, a mayoral aide texted \u201cAre there specific actions you\u2019re hoping we can do to remedy the situation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baran tells Mission Local<\/em> that there are: \u201cThey should own up to what they did, apologize and promise to do better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Latest News<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Beya<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beya Alcaraz was least experienced S.F. supervisor appointee in 30 years, data shows<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"New<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New S.F. supervisor, Beya Alcaraz, abruptly resigns after controversy <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"He<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He died in a San Francisco jail. His family wrote a play about it<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Joe Eskenazi<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

getbackjoejoe@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing Editor\/Columnist. Joe was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and attended U.C. Berkeley. He never left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour humble narrator\u201d was a writer and columnist for SF Weekly from 2007 to 2015, and a senior editor at San Francisco Magazine from 2015 to 2017. You may also have read his work in the Guardian (U.S. and U.K.); San Francisco Public Press; San Francisco Chronicle; San Francisco Examiner; Dallas Morning News; and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He resides in the Excelsior with his wife and three (!) kids, 4.3 miles from his birthplace and 5,474 from hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Northern California branch of the Society of Professional Journalists named Eskenazi the 2019 Journalist of the Year.More by Joe Eskenazi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New texts raise more questions about Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s vetting of newest supervisor, Beya Alcaraz by\u00a0Joe Eskenazi November 13, 2025 (MissionLocal.com) Update: Four hours after publication of this piece, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Beya Alcaraz had resigned as supervisor. In a series of text messages obtained by Mission Local, Mayor Daniel… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45108,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45107\/revisions\/45108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}