October 4, 2025
Kim Scott, Cleveland’s City Planner, Faces Allegations Of Felony Theft And Falsifying Documents
Scott is being placed on unpaid administrative leave while the criminal case is ongoing.
Kim Scott, the chief city planner for the City of Cleveland, spent the morning of Oct. 3 in front of a judge after her earlier arrest two days prior on a charge of fifth-degree felony theft, stemming from allegations that she falsified a marriage license and a death certificate to receive time off granted by the Family and Medical Leave Act. (FMLA)
As Cleveland 19 reports, Sanaa Malik, whose father, Farid Malik, died in June, is broken over what she describes as a betrayal of the trust placed in her by Malik’s actual widow, her mother, Sauda Malik.
“What is the city of Cleveland doing? How did they allow this to happen? She’s (Scott) a thief and a cheat. My mother trusted her. My father trusted her and she betrayed their trust,” Malik told the outlet.
Scott’s attorney, who the outlet did not identify, wants the court to consider her otherwise clean record and give his client the opportunity to bond out of custody.
“She is 67. She has no prior history, lifelong ties to the community. She has worked at the city of Cleveland for almost 20 years. So I am asking for a personal bond,” he told the court.
That arrangement does not appear to be to the liking of Sanaa Malik, who maintained in her comments to the outlet that, “I want to see her go to jail for forging FMLA. I hope that justice will be served.”
According to WKYC, Scott was entrusted with power of attorney by Farid Malik before his death, a designation that allows broad control of a person’s finances, and in certain cases, allows them to make healthcare decisions on behalf of someone who can’t make them for themselves.
As Sanaa told the outlet, Scott abused that power for her own ends and bristled when called to account for it. According to Sanaa, Scott was someone whom she formerly referred to as an auntie.
“She was there 24/7,” Saana Malik recalled. “My father said, ‘I gave her power of attorney to help out in case you can’t get here and I need something done.’ Kim’s words were, ‘Well, I didn’t think it was necessary. Oh, I don’t have to answer anything! Very arrogant, very belligerent. It was a money grab. If Kim would’ve put her name on the death certificate, she could’ve gone to his union and got his pension.”
As reported by Cleveland.com, City of Cleveland spokesperson Sarah Johnson indicated that Scott is being placed on unpaid administrative leave while the criminal case is ongoing. Per city policy, the city’s employees are placed on leave while any cases involving them are pending in the legal system.
On July 7, Cleveland police were notified of an alleged fraud attempt when a woman, most likely Sanaa Malik, based on Cleveland.com’s account, told them that she had found fraudulent documents related to the affairs of her mother, including a death certificate that was allegedly signed by a city official and a falsified marriage certificate.
In addition, the woman told them that Scott, whom she identified as her mother’s “best friend,” had posed as Farid’s wife, using forged and fraudulent documents to do so. Scott was originally accused of falsifying FMLA documents and stealing 117 hours of paid leave from the City of Cleveland via an arrest warrant that was issued on May 27.
Following her arraignment, Scott is expected to return to court on Oct. 15 for a preliminary hearing, but as Malik told News 5 Cleveland, she isn’t interested in anything but justice for what she alleges Scott did to her family.
“That’s stealing and you’re stealing from an elderly man and an elderly woman who helped you,” Saana told the outlet in a phone interview. “Justice for Sauda. That’s what I want, you know, that’s the rallying cry that we have now. Justice for Sauda.”
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