{"id":176649,"date":"2026-02-13T15:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176649\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:36:18","slug":"one-mans-trail-of-alleged-abuse-through-sfs-private-club-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176649\/","title":{"rendered":"One man\u2019s trail of alleged abuse through SF\u2019s private club scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Feb. 13, 2025, employees at the Amador Club opened Slack to see a message from a manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to take a moment to acknowledge the frustrations many of you and the team have shared regarding Mickey,\u201d it began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMickey\u201d was Michael Gerold, a near-daily presence at the Amador, a private, members-only social club in San Francisco\u2019s Financial District. Staffers said Gerold behaved like he owned the place \u2014 he regularly ignored club rules, grew aggressive when corrected, and acted with a sense of impunity. Female employees reported that he touched them inappropriately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The feeling that \u201cMickey gets away with everything\u201d had grown so persistent that a Slack channel was created solely for employees to share their experiences with him, and management felt compelled to address the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear you, and I understand how that can be frustrating,\u201d the message said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that no amount of \u2018Mickey did this, Mickey did that\u2019 will change the situation,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith grace, I want to encourage everyone to let it go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the time management told staff to ignore Gerold\u2018s repeated misbehavior, the allegations had grown far beyond unpaid drinks.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Club members said allegations about Gerold\u2019s conduct circulated quietly for years but grew louder last fall after his former girlfriend Emilia London sought a domestic violence restraining order against him. On the stand, London alleged that from 2022 to 2024, Gerold coerced her into having sex for money and collected more than $100,000 in profits. London told The Standard that Gerold would regularly take her to members-only clubs and bring back men and women to his apartment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A police report filed in October 2025 and reviewed by The Standard lists Gerold as a suspect for sexual assault and administering drugs to commit a felony, identifying 10 victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In another police report, a victim alleges that after an alcohol, ketamine and cocaine-fueled night out at the members-only Battery club in 2025, Gerold arranged for her to be raped by another man in his apartment.<\/p>\n

According to the San Francisco Police Department\u2019s Special Victims Unit inspector Tony Flores, Gerold is a suspect in an ongoing investigation. The Standard reviewed police reports and communications regarding the investigation. Gerold has not been charged with any crimes.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

For years, Gerold has been a regular at some of the city\u2019s most high-profile members-only clubs, including the Battery, the Modernist, and the Amador. The clubs market themselves as places for the influential and the elite \u2014 social playgrounds for brushing shoulders with investors, CEOs, and politicians, all behind closed doors. Prospective members are vetted, interviewed, and often required to be referred by a current member, as with their counterparts at Zero Bond and Core in New York or Soho House in New York and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, private clubs play a role beyond leisure \u2014 they serve as informal offices, particularly for those tied to Silicon Valley. Founders whose companies are based on the Peninsula, angel investors between ventures, or executives who work remotely can take meetings during the day, then socialize with the same circle at night. The 58,000-square-foot Battery club in Jackson Square advertises having \u201cthe most stylish boardroom in the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just being a member of a members-only club imbues credibility \u2014 a signal that someone has been screened and deemed both elite and safe enough to belong.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2018re paying a premium to have a certain exclusivity,\u201d said Kathlyn Araya, a former Amador employee. \u201cYou should feel safe \u2014 more than you would at any other kind of bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerold appeared to belong in these spaces. He said he brokers real estate transactions. He name-dropped a group of friends he called \u201cthe Warrior Kings,\u201d which includes prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists, investors, CEOs, and surgeons.<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019re paying a premium to have a certain exclusivity. You should feel safe \u2014 more than you would at any other kind of bar.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kathlyn Araya, former Amador and Bank membership experience manager<\/p>\n

In fact, Gerold testified in his divorce proceedings from his ex-wife Lisa that he\u2019s unemployed, and has been since 2010. The Standard found no record of him in the California Department of Real Estate\u2019s public license database. And court records from the divorce show that he owes Lisa more than $208,000 as of February 2026.<\/p>\n

But, club members and staff said, Gerold wore nice suits, always had a beautiful woman on his arm, and frequently hosted after-parties at his 22nd-floor Financial District apartment, with eight balconies and two stocked bars.<\/p>\n

They said Gerold used this sheen of success to attract women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s like a used-car salesman,\u201d said one Amador employee. \u201cHe gets talking fast, he makes a lot of promises.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gerold denies all allegations against him. He said people who had made reports against him were lying.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople visiting a residence after a bar or club is not unusual,\u201d he told The Standard. \u201cNo inappropriate or untoward conduct has ever occurred\u201d at his apartment, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said he was never made aware of any complaints about his conduct at the Amador, and he has visited the club hundreds of times since December 2024.<\/p>\n

When allegations and complaints around Gerold\u2019s conduct accumulated, some clubs took action. But documents and interviews reveal a culture at other clubs where owners and managers prize members\u2019 privacy and social discretion above all, and where some members said they were punished for speaking up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Access to members-only clubs can carry real professional and social weight. Membership decisions are generally kept private, and complaints are often handled internally, opaquely.<\/p>\n

Gerold has been connected to at least six instances in which police were called or reports were filed with law enforcement over the last three years. He has reportedly been banned, suspended, or had his membership ended by at least three public and private venues in San Francisco in the last year.<\/p>\n

In February 2022, Gerold joined the Modernist, a private social club near the Ferry Building with membership costs ranging from $1,000 a year to a $50,000 one-time fee. The club\u2019s founding members include Brian Armstrong of Coinbase, Steve Huffman of Reddit, and Kyle Vogt of Cruise. It\u2019s known for its tightly controlled access and high-profile guests. Elon Musk (opens in new tab)<\/a>, for one, was photographed dining there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In June 2024, according to internal club documents, owners of the Modernist met with Gerold to discuss reports that he had behaved aggressively toward female staff and members. When the complaints continued, leaders elected not to renew his membership in February 2025. The staff is now instructed not to let Gerold into the venue.<\/p>\n

\u2018I let him know that not everyone is comfortable being touched and that he shouldn\u2019t assume that anyone here wants to be touched.\u2019<\/p>\n

Amador staff report<\/p>\n

Gerold denied that he was banned from the Modernist. He said he allowed his membership to expire and has visited the club in the past year and was not asked to leave.<\/p>\n

Throughout last year, Gerold continued to frequent the Battery, but the Amador became his haunt of choice, according to several staffers and club members.<\/p>\n

The Amador Club, previously called the Wingtip, occupies the 10th and 11th floors of the nearly 120-year-old Bank of Italy building at 555 Montgomery St. Invite-only membership costs $250 a month, plus a $2,500 initiation fee. The deliberately old-world enclave of dark wood with poker tables, wine cave, and cigar lounge \u2014 one of the few places in the city that allows indoor smoking \u2014 caters to a certain type of clientele. \u201cIt\u2019s all very man, man, man, man,\u201d one employee said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Last year, owners Evan Krow and Jon D\u2019Angelica expanded to the ground floor of the building with a second venue meant to signal a new era. While the upstairs club is dark, the downstairs Bank at Amador<\/a> is bright and open, with large windows, towering ceilings, and white marble walls. It was marketed as a counterpart to the upstairs club \u2014 still members-only, but modern, diverse, welcoming to women, and affordable, at just $50 per month.<\/p>\n

Gerold became part of that pitch. He was featured heavily in the Bank\u2019s promotion; in a full-page ad in San Francisco magazine, he appeared in all three photos of people at the club. Staffers said the club built a structure in which \u201ctrustees\u201d recruited \u201cambassadors\u201d who recruited additional members. Gerold was a \u201ctrustee,\u201d with his photo and biography posted on the club\u2019s website. Other trustees include the San Francisco fire marshal, the CEO of Liquor.com (opens in new tab)<\/a>, and the CEO of Steph Curry\u2019s company Thirty Ink.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2018s like the mayor of the Amador,\u201d said Viv Anand, a sales director who joined the club last fall but said he stopped visiting because Gerold was always around. \u201cIt just seems like this guy shouldn\u2019t be part of any social club or organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Araya was tasked with recruiting and vetting prospective members as the Amador and Bank\u2019s membership experience manager from April to October 2025. \u201cGerold\u2019s reputation made expanding the membership to more women incredibly problematic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Founding<\/p>\n

Gerold testified in court in 2025 that he helped to develop the Amador\u2019s business \u201cin the capacity and role of membership, media, member engagement, events, programming, and investor relations.\u201d He said he worked there a total of 30 to 40 hours per month as a \u201cnon-employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerold told The Standard he \u201cperformed services\u201d for the club \u201cat least 40 hours per week for several months\u201d but was never employed by the club, and said he never claimed to have been. In an interview with The Standard, Krow said Gerold is not and never has been employed by the club. But employees said that\u2019s not what Gerold told members and guests.<\/p>\n

One employee who worked at the front desk said they overheard Gerold telling a woman, \u201cWe\u2019re building such a wonderful thing here. As the owner, I\u2019m so proud.\u201d The employee said they later saw Gerold making out with the woman in the elevator.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Standard reviewed internal Amador Slack messages, emails, and documents from December 2024 through January 2026. The Amador and Bank staff described an accumulating set of complaints about Gerold\u2019s treatment of women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In April 2025, an employee emailed a manager about Gerold \u201ctouching people,\u201d writing that multiple people had complained of unwanted touching or had come to staffers to say he\u2019d made them uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI let him know that not everyone is comfortable being touched and that he shouldn\u2019t assume that anyone here wants to be touched,\u201d the employee wrote, adding that they told him \u201cmoving forward to please keep his hands to himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

An employee posted on Slack about finding two female club members \u201cstartled and shaking\u201d after an Oct. 8 interaction with Gerold, \u201cbegging\u201d the manager to \u201cmake him leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Members, guests, and staffers described Gerold as close with co-owner Krow. Araya said that multiple managers brought up concerns to the owners at weekly leadership meetings, but the concerns fell on deaf ears.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cManagement and ownership were aware of the concerns around Mickey\u2019s reputation,\u201d said Araya.<\/p>\n

Employees said three members were banned from the club solely because they spoke up about Gerold to Krow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Krow would neither confirm or deny that he received complaints from employees about Gerold. He declined to answer questions about his relationship with Gerold, including how they met or how long they\u2019ve known each other.<\/p>\n

In early October, AI engineer Ben Holfeld, an Amador Club \u201cambassador\u201d who was helping recruit new members, emailed staff about an event he planned to host, with one condition: He didn\u2019t want Gerold there. Holfeld wrote that multiple women didn\u2019t want to attend because they weren\u2019t comfortable around Gerold. A membership coordinator told him the concerns would be escalated, and staff assured him Gerold wouldn\u2019t attend the event.<\/p>\n

Gerold showed up anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Standard reviewed nine written complaints sent to the Amador about Gerold in the following days, including one from a member who said she had witnessed Gerold \u201cpimping out\u201d London to a man more than a year prior. The member called his behavior \u201cpredatory and degrading\u201d and wrote that he should not \u201cbe allowed around women in social club settings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gerold denied the allegation of pimping.<\/p>\n

An employee emailed Krow and D\u2019Angelica, warning that the reports were \u201cbecoming more frequent and more serious,\u201d that members and guests were saying they didn\u2019t feel safe when Gerold was around, and that the club\u2019s reputation could suffer if it was seen as connected to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to internal records reviewed by The Standard, Gerold was suspended that evening, Oct. 14, for 30 days. Staffers were instructed on Slack to keep the reason discreet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone does inquire please remain neutral and just simply say he\u2019s busy working on his next project,\u201d a manager wrote. \u201cI beg of you to not share or spread this to anyone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AAmador co-owner Evan Krow making a toast with Michael \u201cMickey\u201d Gerold. | Source: San Francisco Magazine<\/p>\n

Growing frustrated with the club\u2019s handling of the situation, Holfeld went to the San Francisco Police Department on Oct. 23 to report allegations of rape, sexual assault, and drugging by Gerold he said he\u2019d heard from 10 victims. That investigation remains active.<\/p>\n

In late November, after Gerold\u2019s 30-day suspension was up, Holfeld met with the Amador\u2019s owners. Gerold\u2019s name and photo were removed from the club\u2019s website by the end of the week.<\/p>\n

In January, an Amador management employee quit, writing in her resignation letter that Gerold\u2019s continued membership and apparent power as a \u201csupervisor\u201d was a reason she could no longer work there.<\/p>\n

Krow declined to answer questions related to Gerold\u2019s membership. He initially said he was not aware that the club has a list of members who are banned but later clarified that it does maintain such a list.<\/p>\n

After The Standard presented questions to the Amador about Gerold and how the club handled complaints against him, the club ended his membership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An Amador representative told The Standard that the club \u201ctakes all concerns about conduct and safety seriously and maintains clear policies prohibiting any behavior that compromises the well-being of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The prevailing culture of discretion is exactly what makes San Francisco\u2019s private club scene a draw to the city\u2019s wealthy and elite \u2014 access to an always-on social atmosphere anchored by high-end alcohol and late nights with a vetted crowd, where staffers are expected to defer to members in ways that go far beyond those of a typical restaurant or bar.<\/p>\n

Gerold has wielded his relationships with the clubs as a social weapon. When his ex-girlfriend London left in 2024, he sent her and her family more than 130 messages, often asserting his prominence in the clubs. He threatened a man she\u2019d started dating with social ruin: \u201cI\u2019m with the leadership at the Battery right now at Holbrook House working on this,\u201d he texted London\u2019s father in April 2024. \u201cIn about two weeks he\u2019ll be dead to everybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the hearing on the requested restraining order, London\u2019s father testified that Gerold took him to the Battery and pointed out which women were prostitutes.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everyone talks about him being a creep. But it\u2019s always vague.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dan Hunt, a Battery and Amador club member\u200b<\/p>\n

London\u2019s request for a permanent restraining order was denied in September. In January, after The Standard sent Gerold a list of questions, he filed for his own domestic violence restraining order against London. A temporary order was granted, but he has yet to serve her or plead his case in court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When someone with a reputation for misconduct and allegations of assault remains welcome at a club, members said, it undermines the protection they expect from the promised exclusivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re surrounded by people in San Francisco who care about their social reputation,\u201d said a former frequent guest in the club scene. She said Gerold was one reason she no longer visits the Amador, the Battery, and other clubs. \u201cI think people don\u2019t want drama. It\u2019s not socially acceptable to have that kind of drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Battery, at least three members and guests have submitted written complaints about Gerold over the last two years, according to emails reviewed by The Standard. In response to one member\u2019s complaint, a staffer wrote that they \u201ccannot comment on any action or non-action taken or not taken\u201d due to the Battery\u2019s privacy policy.<\/p>\n

In response to questions from The Standard, a representative for the Battery said the club \u201cis committed to maintaining a safe environment and to addressing behavior that falls short of our standards\u201d but declined to comment on Gerold or any allegations against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone talks about [Gerold] being a creep,\u201d said Dan Hunt, a Battery and Amador member. \u201cBut it\u2019s always vague.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women speaking out about any alleged bad behavior in the club scene risk more than social exclusion \u2014 it could threaten their professional networks and careers.<\/p>\n

Sexual assault and rape cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute and grueling for victims. But private clubs with membership agreements and codes of conduct aren\u2019t bound by criminal codes and rules of evidence regarding whom they allow to remain as members. The clubs make their own decisions about who belongs and what behavior crosses the line. Members and staffers who complained about Gerold hoped that private clubs might offer accountability where the criminal justice system often falls short.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, they found that social justice among San Francisco\u2019s glitterati may be even more difficult to come by.<\/p>\n

San Francisco\u2019s Mayor\u2019s Office for Victims\u2019 Rights (opens in new tab)<\/a> offers confidential support to victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

If you have information to share, you can reach Anya Schultz securely on Signal at Anyaschultz.36.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Feb. 13, 2025, employees at the Amador Club opened Slack to see a message from a manager.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[18929,3743,101,103,102,2531,29463,104,106,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-176649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-clubs","9":"tag-nightlife","10":"tag-san-francisco","11":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","12":"tag-san-francisco-news","13":"tag-sexual-assault","14":"tag-sexual-harassment","15":"tag-sf","16":"tag-sf-headlines","17":"tag-sf-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}