‘Potential Political Conspiracy’ and ‘Influence Peddling’ In Anaheim According to New Report

A new investigative report released on Monday has found a “potential criminal conspiracy” involving former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu diverting $1.5 million of COVID-19 relief funds from a tourism organization to a different non-profit headed by the former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO as part of an “influence peddling” scheme, sparking a fresh new round of corruption allegations in the city.

While corruption allegations against Sidhu have been around since the late 2010’s in Anaheim, the major allegations, involving the deal between the City of Anaheim and Los Angeles Angels owner Art Moreno to sell the stadium and surrounding parking lots to him for $320 million has been marred in controversy. The deal, which eventually fell through because of the controversy, had problematic issues ranging from violating California law to the massive reduction of affordable housing units being placed on proposed developments in the property. However, the main issue, as highlighted by an FBI report, was bribery, with then-Mayor Sidhu being accused by the FBI in accepting $1 million in exchange for performing final acts to help the stadium deal go through.

With the entire Anaheim City Council calling for his resignation, as well as federal pressure from the FBI and local pressure from residents, Sidhu resigned in May 2022. While he has not been charged formally and has continued to deny any wrongdoing, much is still up in the air over his legal future.

After his resignation last year, the city decided to do their own investigation, with the Anaheim City Council hiring the JL Group last summer to look into all the allegations around the deal, Sidhu, and others involved. The investigation, led by retired Orange County Superior Court Judge Clay Smith, went on to do a year-long review of the alleged corruption. In total, around 1 million city staff e-mails were sifted through, as well as more than 50,000 documents, examinations of several electronic devices, and a look into everything from city contract agreements to city expenditures.

This led to the report coming out on Monday. In it, the group showed more potential corruption and allegations than the FBI probe had found. The most damning allegation in the report found that then-Mayor Sidhu had managed to pass, with support of the Council, $6.5 million in COVID-funds go to the non-profit city marketing organization Visit Anaheim, to help spur tourism following COVID. However, the report alleges that Sidhu had Visit Anaheim CEO Jay Burress divert $1.5 million of those funds to another non-profit run by then Anaheim Chamber of Commerce head Todd Ament.

Ament then had Burress claim that the $1.5 million had come from other reserve funds from Visit Anaheim, and not the COVID relief funds, with the Chamber non-profit not listing the funds at all on their 2020 tax returns. “Influence peddling” was also reported in other areas, with money being paid to political organizations or other projects to reach Sidhu.

More corruption allegations leveled against Sidhu

“We determined that there was a conspiracy between then Mayor Sidhu, Ament, and the CEO and president of Visit Anaheim, Jay Burress,” noted the report. “The facts showed that then-Mayor Sidhu directed Burress to divert $1.5 million to the Anaheim Chamber’s controlled nonprofit and that Ament instructed Burress to report, if asked about the $1.5 million, that it came from other reserve funds from Visit Anaheim.

“The chamber nonprofit entity that received this $1.5 million in 2020 did not list those funds in their tax returns that were filed in December 2022. This activity demonstrates the nature and style of Ament and Mayor Sidhu’s intentions on inappropriately and potentially unlawfully diverting public funds in inappropriate ways.

“Overall, we observed that Sidhu had a close connection to Ament and the Anaheim Chamber and engaged in what could only be described as influence-peddling through Ament. The evidence pointed to the fact that individuals who wanted to meet with the mayor had to first go through Ament and then pay some form of tribute in order to reach Mayor Sidhu. This could include donations to political organizations, joining the Anaheim Chamber, or participating in other pet projects favored by then Mayor Sidhu.”

The release of the report brought a wave of fury against Sidhu and others in the report being involved with the alleged crimes. Lawmakers in the area swiftly released statements in response, chastising Sidhu and others for their roles in the growing scandal.

“The report released today is further confirmation that the actions of former Mayor Harry Sidhu and those who enabled him were not reflective of incompetence, but instead conscious acts of fraud, greed, and deception,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken in a statement on Monday. “As a former Federal Prosecutor and a political target of Sidhu, I understand all too well the negative impact his tenure as Mayor had on Anaheim. We must ensure that this scandal and the contents of the report lead to meaningful reforms so that corruption never again takes root at City Hall.”

Legal experts also noted that the new allegations could lead to even more charges in court if founded.

“Sidhu, Ament, and Burress all have to be very worried now,” explained Orange County lawyer Matthew Springer to the Globe on Tuesday. “These are very serious allegations and the last thing Sidhu needed on top of those bribery allegations last year. If prosecuted and found guilty, this can mean major jail time and fines at the very least. Their political futures are over for sure, as there is no real bouncing back from this. It’s that serious, and from a report paid for by the city no less.”

As of Tuesday, no new charges have been filed on anyone in the new report.