Anaheim whistleblower alleges millions in taxpayer dollars wasted

A whistleblower is alleging wide-ranging misconduct by Anaheim’s top finance official — including enabling fraud that wastes millions of taxpayers dollars, lying to the city council and protecting a known sexual harasser.

In a tort claim filed in early July, former purchasing agent Kari Bouffard alleges she was wrongfully terminated for “engaging in protected whistleblower activity, reporting sexual assault and harassment, exposing procurement fraud, refusing to participate in unlawful contracting practices and addressing severe deficiencies that resulted in costly delays and exposed the city to continuous and significant risk.”

She alleges that Debbie Moreno, Anaheim’s finance director and city treasurer, “violated the public trust, abused her authority, disregarded City Council policies.”

The tort claim, obtained by LAist via a public records request, alleges that Moreno:

• Refused to audit the city’s credit card purchases, which amount to around $800,000 a month
• Covered up that the Fire & Rescue Department bought new ambulances and went to the Council after to seek approval
• Does not follow standard best practices for procurement — no member of the purchasing department had ever written a contract — and instead creates additional, unnecessary processes 
• Uses a policy from 1999 to lease computer hardware at inflated prices, bypassing Council approval 

All together, the tort claim paints a picture of a city’s procurement department that lacks processes or oversight controls — run totally ad hoc — resulting in the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. And Bouffard alleges in the tort claim her repeated attempts to address issues were met with retaliation. She wrote that she felt like she was “being punished for simply trying to protect the city and ensure its actions complied with the law.”

As the city's top financial official, Moreno is tasked with administering a $2.4 billion budget. Anaheim, the most populous city in Orange County and home to Disneyland, Angels Stadium and Honda Center, has a history of financial scandals.

Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu at the Orange County Black History Parade, Feb. 5, 2022. Sidhu resigned in May 2022, a week after FBI documents revealed he was under federal investigation for an alleged quid pro quo scheme involving the now-canceled sale of Angel Stadium.

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Daniel Knighton

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Three years ago, a federal probe revealed a “cabal” of business and political leaders worked behind the scenes to exert influence over City Hall. Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu just served two months in federal prison for his role in the corruption scandal.

Bouffard’s tort claim comes at a time the city is contending with a $60 million budget shortfall.

LAist reached out to the city about the allegations in the tort claim, as well as discrepancies we found in records obtained via a public records request. LAist also asked the city about its oversight practices.

City spokesperson Mike Lyster told LAist he would not comment on the specific allegations in Bouffard’s tort claim because they are part of an ongoing personnel matter.

“We take all workplace concerns seriously and adhere to high ethical and professional standards. The claims made are being evaluated and are from a former employee whose work with the city did not extend past probation,” Lyster said in a written statement. “But, in this case, the issues being raised are part of a personnel matter, with all the considerations that come with that. We want to be respectful of all involved, and discussion of personnel matters in the media would be inappropriate.”

Lyster did not dispute Bouffard’s claims. Instead, he wrote that the city welcomes a review of contracts and policies. LAist requested purchase orders, agreements, contracts and process documents related to the claims and found discrepancies that seem to back up Bouffard’s claims.

Lyster did not comment on the discrepancies LAist found in the purchase orders, agreements, contracts and processes obtained independent of the tort claim.

When did the problems start?

Bouffard, a public servant of 28 years, whose experience includes a long stint at the County of Orange, started at the city of Anaheim in the summer of 2024.

Very soon, she began to notice a lack of processes and little oversight in how the department was run, she told LAist in an interview.

Kari Bouffard, the whistleblower, alleging widespread mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.

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Formal contracts were not written, with neither the city nor vendor agreeing to terms and conditions or scopes of work. That was a “red flag,” she said. Contracts are commonplace in government as they help create a record trail to keep the city — and taxpayers — from being overcharged or billed by unscrupulous contractors.

Bouffard said conversations with other city departments convinced her the purchasing division at the city was in disarray and had been mismanaged for years.

“ I saw all of this, though, as an opportunity to put better systems in place to restore accountability and support both the purchasing team and the departments that we serve,” Bouffard said.

In the tort claim, Bouffard alleges Moreno also created a “hostile work environment” by allowing sexual harassment and retaliation “to continue unchecked.” That section of the tort claim is heavily redacted, with details about the assault, names of employees and details of the investigation blacked out.

Bouffard was terminated in July, two days before her one-year probation period ended.

At her six-month performance review in June 2025 (six months after it was due), she wrote in the tort claim she was “awarded a 'Distinguished' rating and a 2% salary increase in recognition of my contributions” despite “an excessive and unsustainable workload” where she could not even take accrued time off.

Bouffard alleges in her tort claim that she was fired not because of poor performance but because her efforts to improve the procurement department bristled Moreno.

Urgent contract for ambulances already in hand

A few months after she started at the city in 2024, Bouffard alleges in the tort claim Moreno asked her to draft an “urgent” contract to purchase ambulances for the city’s Fire & Rescue Department.

While working on the contract, Bouffard claims she discovered an email showing the ambulances already were procured and delivered.

Bouffard alleges Moreno prepared a staff report for the City Council that requested Council approval for the purchase.

Bouffard wrote: “Ms. Moreno not only misled me regarding the situation but also knowingly falsified the staff report presented to City Council, intentionally concealing the fire department’s unauthorized procurement and colluding to cover up the procurement violations.”

Bouffard alleges Moreno has a personal relationship with Fire Chief Patrick Russell and has shown favoritism toward his department.

LAist asked the city in a public records request for all executed contracts, invoices, order forms and emails pertaining to the order of ambulances. The contract the city shared with us does not show that the council approved the purchase of ambulances that the city already possessed.

Creating additional work for departments

Bouffard alleges Moreno relied on “cumbersome” procurement processes while punishing Bouffard for trying to implement changes she said would save the city money.

When Bouffard arrived at the city, she told LAist, if a department needed to purchase goods or services, the purchasing team would ask them exactly how much was needed and then they would move forward with that purchase for the exact amount of what was requested.

This method, she said, is “cumbersome” and leads to higher prices for goods, wasting taxpayer dollars. Instead, she sought to implement bulk pricing and planning for future purchases so the city can negotiate better deals.

A city staff member heads into the Anaheim Council Chamber before an open session meeting at Anaheim City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.

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Trevor Stamp

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LAist

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These concerns would come to light with a contract for the police department.

When the police department wanted to purchase military equipment, with plans to buy more in the future, Bouffard developed a five-year purchasing agreement with a total amount not to exceed $3.75 million. This was contrary to the usual process used by the city, where purchases are made annually.

In the memo Bouffard drafted to explain her reasoning, she wrote, “Historically, many purchases throughout the city have been made reactively, often in response to urgent needs that arise during the fiscal year. While this method may provide quick relief, it frequently leads to higher costs, unpredictable budgeting and a greater risk of contract ratifications. These challenges highlight the need for a more proactive and structured approach to procurement — one that emphasizes planning, collaboration and long-term stability.”

The memo, which was sent to City Manager Jim Vanderpool, was ultimately stripped of Bouffard’s concerns.

She alleges Moreno and Deputy Finance Director Jean Ibalio excluded her from the rewrite process and dismissed her concerns because they were worried she would raise these process concerns with Vanderpool over “the broader lack of fiscal oversight.”

The city would eventually go without Bouffard’s recommendation for the contract. Instead, in the memo, Moreno wrote the Anaheim Police Department will have to get approval in the future for purchases already approved by the Council.

Circumventing competitive bidding

While Moreno had concerns about a long-term contract for the police department, it appears she promoted the use of a costly 25-year-old policy to purchase computer hardware for city staff.

In April, IT manager Ed Jin told Bouffard to renew a lease of around $4.5 million with Hewlett Packard for computer hardware, using a policy referred to as “1999.” Bouffard was concerned with the high spend for computer hardware and a conversation with the city’s IT admin analyst confirmed the lease was expensive. The per-staff, per-computer cost would amount to $5,000 with the lease. If the city did not renew the lease, the cost would be $1,800 per person.

Other cities spend less on computers. Santa Ana, for example, told LAist the city purchases desktop computers for $850 and laptops for $1,425.

LAist requested the 1999 policy via a public records request. In 1999, the then-City Council approved a motion giving the purchasing agent — who until recently was Bouffard — the authority to issue purchase orders and execute lease agreements for computer equipment.

Bouffard alleges in the tort claim that this “outdated” policy is being used improperly to avoid soliciting competitive bids, pay in excess for hardware, obtain equipment without council approval and abuse evergreen clauses to avoid processes.

At four different occasions in May and June, according to the tort claim, Jin would “warn” Bouffard to use the policy to renew the lease, saying Moreno and Ibalio were upset.

“During each conversation, I communicated to Mr. Jin I am required to adhere to Council policy and follow the advice of our city attorneys. It was apparent Mr. Jin was under pressure to push me into violating Council policy,” Bouffard wrote.

Jin emailed Bouffard an “evergreen” contract, which Bouffard claims was an attempt to prove that an approved contract existed.

That contract was from 2002 with a company called Compaq, an organization that no longer exists and was acquired by HP.

In her tort claim, Bouffard said the evergreen contract originated prior to her employment with the city and had no expiration date. This “violates competitive bidding and circumvents Council approval protocols,” according to the claim.

Bouffard alleges the Anaheim IT team confirmed to her that the city had been leasing equipment through this process for at least a decade.

“ From my understanding, since 2006, the city of Anaheim has spent over $92 million on hardware and computers through the lease through HP Financial Services without seeking counsel approval,” Bouffard told LAist.

LAist asked the city of Anaheim how much it has spent on computer hardware using the 1999 policy, but we have not received an answer.

No oversight for credit card purchases

A big red flag for Bouffard when she came on board as the city’s purchasing agent was the lack of oversight into the city’s credit card spend: around $800,000 of public money every month.

“ When the departments want to get the purchases they need right away, if there were delays in the purchasing department, they would use those credit cards to get that done. That wasn't being audited,” Bouffard told LAist.

In her tort claim, Bouffard alleges she raised the lack of oversight with Moreno on several occasions but her solutions were “insufficient.”

And when Bouffard raised the concerns with the city’s audit team, which then wanted to audit the credit card program, she alleges Moreno told her: “Do not let them in the door.”

“I found her response unprofessional, dismissive and deeply concerning, particularly given her role as finance director and her responsibility to support accountability and internal controls,” Bouffard wrote.

LAist asked the city spokesperson if the credit card purchases have been audited in the past five years. We have not received an answer.

How to keep tabs on the Anaheim City Council

The Anaheim City Council meets on scheduled Tuesdays. The next meeting is Oct. 28. Meetings start at 5 p.m.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The board meets at City Hall, Council Chambers, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., First floor, Anaheim
• Watch the live broadcast
• Here’s how to submit a comment or contact the council