Former head of Gala Pride and Diversity Center Dustin Colyerworth charged with felony embezzlement

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Dustin Robert Colyerworth, the former Executive Director of the Gala Pride and Diversity Center, was charged with four counts of felony grand theft by embezzlement.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office shared in a press release Monday that Colyerworth is alleged to have embezzled funds from the organization between November of 2022 and October of 2024.

The criminal complaint filed against him also included multiple aggravating factors including that Colyerworth took advantage of a position of trust and that the manner in which the alleged crimes were carried out indicated planning, sophistication, or professionalism.

Colyerworth posted his $20,000 bail on Nov. 25, and is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 10 of this year in Department 3 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court noted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

"Embezzlement of funds is crime that we take seriously," stated San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow. "It inflicts real financial harm, but its deeper damage is the broken trust and the lost opportunities when the money intended for our community is diverted into private pockets."