The Los Angeles Ethics Commission has charged real estate developer Samuel Leon with 444 violations of the city's campaign finance laws, including provisions banning the laundering of campaign funds.
The agency said: Filing A city department report released Friday said it determined there was “substantial basis” to believe that between 2009 and 2015, Liang repaid campaign contributions in violation of city law and exceeded the city's political contribution limits.
Mr. Leon was a central figure in a 2016 New York Times investigation that revealed that a widespread network of people and businesses connected to him made political contributions totaling more than $600,000 as city leaders considered a 352-unit apartment project then called Seabreeze.
When Times reporters contacted these donors, some denied giving or said they had no recollection of making donations.
“The pattern of donations from unlikely sources — some of whom claim they had no knowledge of donations made in their names — suggests an attempt to circumvent campaign finance laws designed to make political contributions transparent to the public,” the Times reported.
Seabreeze, located in Los Angeles' Harbor Gateway neighborhood, was approved by the City Council in 2015 and opened a few years ago under a new name, Seacrest.
The Times' reporting sparked investigations by both the Ethics Commission and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, which both filed charges against Leon. In 2020, Leon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder campaign funds. He was sentenced to five years probation and 500 hours of community service.
At the time, Liang also agreed to pay an undetermined amount of compensation to the city.
Ethics Commission officials said in documents released Friday that the investigation began with a list of donors identified by The Times and expanded to other political donors.
The committee said it found “extensive evidence” that at least 66 donors made donations that were “directly or indirectly repaid or paid directly” by Mr. Liang. More than 400 donations to political committees set up by or for local politicians were attributed to these donors, according to documents released on Friday.
Los Angeles prohibits donors from making “fake-name” donations, which are donations that are attributed to one person but are actually funded by another. The law is intended to prevent donors from circumventing the city's political contribution limits. It also provides clarity on the true source of political contributions.
According to the Ethics Commission filing, Leon “returned or facilitated the refund” of more than 400 contributions to both campaigns and office-holder political committees that totaled more than $210,000 over contribution limits.
“The evidence shows that Mr. Leong solicited and repaid contributions directly from family members, from certain individuals who worked for him, and from the families of individuals who worked for him,” the committee said in a 148-page filing detailing the donations.
Leon's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the indictment, Leon also helped refund eight donations totaling $80,000 to the Independent Expenditure Committee, which had no limits on the amount of donations it could receive.
In the coming weeks, the five-member ethics committee will select a hearing officer for an administrative hearing, which will then decide whether the alleged violations occurred and, if so, what punishment Leon should receive.
According to the commission, fines will be capped at $5,000 per violation or three times the amount improperly donated or reported, whichever is greater.
