A group attends a public forum at the Ponderosa Park Family Resource Center in Anaheim on the city's 353-page independent investigation into corruption issues.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
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Topline:
It’s been more than two years since the former head of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the corruption scandal that erupted in Anaheim two years ago.
The backstory: In a federal complaint filed in 2022, prosecutors identified Todd Ament as one of the influential ringleaders who worked behind the scenes to influence Anaheim politics.
Why it matters: Some Anaheim politicians and residents are asking why justice is taking so long and if anything has really changed since the scandal broke more than two years ago.
Why the delay: Prosecutors and Ament's defense attorney declined to comment on the delay. Former federal prosecutors, who are not tied to Ament’s case, told LAist there are likely several reasons for the delay: The investigation is still ongoing and prosecutors are hoping to leverage Ament to charge other possible defendants.
It’s been more than two years since the former head of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the corruption scandal that erupted in Anaheim two years ago.
Todd Ament, who in 2022 admitted to wire fraud, lying to a mortgage lender, lying on his tax returns and other crimes, faces a possible sentence of 30 years or more in prison, according to the US Department of Justice.
But, for now, he remains free on bail.
What the federal complaint outlined
In a federal complaint filed in 2022, prosecutors identified Ament as one of the ringleaders of a “cabal” of elected officials, political consultants and business leaders who worked behind the scenes to influence Anaheim politics. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Ament laundered money meant for the Chamber of Commerce to his coffers. Prosecutors said he would use that money later to defraud a mortgage lender to buy a home in Big Bear.
He is also accused of orchestrating meetings between power brokers to discuss public matters in private.
Former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu also pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the corruption scandal, specifically related to the $320 million sale of Angels stadium. Like Ament, he has yet to be sentenced.
Some politicians and residents are wondering the reasons for the delay.
“I think for those of us who are observing and paying attention it just feels we're just back to where a lot of this really started,” said former councilmember Jose Moreno.
He said there has been “radio silence” at City Hall about the corruption scandal and that it's been “business as usual.”
Why the sentencing delay?
LAist reached out to attorneys on both sides of the case to understand why the sentencing is now going on years. Prosecutors refused to comment. Ament’s defense lawyer, Salvatore Ciulla, did not respond to requests for comment. As of Monday, the docket report for Ament’s case listed the sentencing date as Dec. 9, 2022, but it did not show whether the hearing has been rescheduled.
Former federal prosecutors, who are not tied to Ament’s case, told LAist there are likely several reasons for the delay: The investigation is still ongoing and prosecutors are hoping to leverage Ament to charge other possible defendants.
Experts said sentencing can be delayed if Ament is cooperating with prosecutors.
Larry Rosenthal, former federal prosecutor and professor of law at Chapman University, said Ament’s plea agreement has a cooperation provision built in. That means if he cooperates with prosecutors, answering questions, providing documents and even wearing a wire if they require it, he could have his sentence reduced.
“My practice when I was a prosecutor is that I wanted individuals who I expected to testify in future cases not to be sentenced, so that the sentencing would remain hanging over them,” Rosenthal said.
Sometimes, he said, judges will ask lawyers specific reasons to delay a sentencing. Prosecutors could provide this information in a sealed file if they don’t want to alert people that the investigation is ongoing, Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal said sentencing can also be delayed if a defendant has breached the cooperation provision, for example, by providing false information. If that happens, a plea agreement or parts of it can be revoked.
Why the delay doesn't surprise experts
Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor, said it's not surprising that Ament’s sentencing is taking long. If he is cooperating with prosecutors, the authorities will use him “to look at other possible defendants, and they want to make sure they get the full extent of his information before he's sentenced.”
Not only do they (prosecutors) have to be careful how they do the investigation, but they must make sure that they get to the heart of it, who is really benefiting from it, and who's calling the shots.
— Laurie Levenson, Loyola Marymount law professor
She said sentencing could take “months and even years” because prosecutors will go back and forth to confirm information with Ament, and “if the cooperation involves him testifying against others, then you have to build in the time for those charges as well as trials.”
Because multiple parties including Ament and former Mayor Harry Sidhu are involved, Levenson said, prosecutors will leverage them to further the investigation.
“He's (Ament) probably the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “It involved people who are of high political power, and for that reason, not only do they (prosecutors) have to be careful how they do the investigation, but they must make sure that they get to the heart of it, who is really benefiting from it, and who's calling the shots.”
The backstory
Catch up on what we know about Ament and the corruption scandal:
In a 2022 federal criminal complaint, Ament was named a ringleader of a “cabal” that “wielded significant influence over the inner workings of Anaheim’s government.” Ament and an unnamed political consultant were accused of diverting funds from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce to Ament’s personal coffers, laundered through the consultant’s firm. Prosecutors said Ament used the funds to “fraudulently secure financing” for a second home in Big Bear.
Ament also agreed to a plea bargain in which he admitted to his role in attempting to defraud a cannabis company that wanted to do business in the city.
An independent report commissioned by the city of Anaheim found that city leaders awarded large contracts to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, which Ament headed, "with little or no oversight or meaningful deliverables."
According to the report, Ament and the former mayor of Anaheim engaged in “influence peddling,” meaning that. anyone who wanted an audience with the mayor would have to meet Ament first. The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce collected residents' personal information and used it to make unsolicited calls about political campaigns.
A state audit earlier this year showed that the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce misused public funds for political lobbying and to support Disneyland-friendly candidates.
An LAist report earlier this year revealed the FBI is investigating Santa Ana Unified School District's agreements with companies that provided COVID-19 testing to students. Some of the companies were owned or affiliated with Ament.
Critics say it's transparency without reforms
Then-Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu at an Orange County parade just a few months before he resigned.
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Daniel Knighton
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Getty Images
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Sidhu, the former mayor of Anaheim, pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges of obstructing an FBI investigation, lying to federal authorities and cheating on his taxes, according to court documents. In his plea agreement, Sidhu admitted to passing confidential information related to the sale of the stadium to the owners of the Angels baseball team, who were trying to buy it.
Last month, the Angels baseball team owners, received a settlement from the city because the stadium deal did not go through.
Moreno, the former council member, called the settlement “really disappointing” as it was the Angels’ consultant who received illegal information from the city.
He also said council members and the current mayor continue to refuse to talk to the public about the corruption scandal.
LAist has reached out to Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken for comment. She has not yet responded.
Moreno said the current City Council has made moves to improve transparency by sharing information publicly about meetings with corporate entities, like Disney.
The criminal complaint references an unnamed company federal investigators allege was a major player in the so-called "cabal." The Los Angeles Times identified that company as Disneyland Resort, but it has not been charged in connection with the scandal.
Moreno told LAist that the changes by the City Council are not enough.
It's just transparency without reforms, he said.
More sentencing delays
Ament is not the only one whose sentencing hearing has been delayed.
Former Orange County Democratic Party leader Melahat Rafiei, who revealed she was a cooperating witness in the FBI investigation, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. She has not been sentenced yet either. Rafiei was expected to be sentenced in May, but that hearing has also been delayed with recent developments in the case sealed.
Alaleh Kamran, Rafiei’s attorney, said cases are often postponed continued to accommodate the attorneys' schedules.
What we know about Rafiei's role
In 2022, Rafiei, then a high ranking Democratic Party official, revealed to the Voice of OC that she was a cooperating witness into the FBI’s probe of corruption in Anaheim. She would later resign from her positions.
Then in 2023, she agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for attempting to defraud one of her clients.
In the plea agreement, Rafiei is accused of telling a commercial cannabis company she would work to have Anaheim pass a cannabis ordinance in exchange for a payment of $300,000. Prosecutors say she falsely said two thirds of that payment would go to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, instead Rafiei intended to split the money between herself and an unnamed associate.
In the plea agreement, she is also accused of attempting to bribe two Irvine council members in 2018 with at least $225,000 to pass a cannabis ordinance which would have allowed her clients, a cannabis company, to open offices in the city. The bribes were to be passed off as legal payments as part of Rafiei’s political consulting work. Rafiei was not charged in relation to the scheme and the two council members were not named in the agreement.
The cases involving Ament and Rafiei have both been assigned to the same judge.
When that happens, Rosenthal said, it's because prosecutors have identified the cases as related. It also signals that the investigation may be ongoing and more charges may be expected against more defendants.
