Former California Democratic Party official Melahat Rafiei has accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors in connection to an FBI corruption probe in Orange County.
Rafiei, 45, the former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County and a political consultant, agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of attempting to commit wire fraud for trying to defraud one of her cannabis clients, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Jan. 19.
“She further admitted in court documents that she agreed to bribe two members of the Irvine City Council—both on cannabis-related matters,” the DOJ said in a release.
Rafiei could not be reached for comment Jan. 19. In an emailed statement to Orange County political leaders, she confirmed that she had accepted the deal, according to the Voice of OC.
“I have never hesitated to stand in the dark with others to help them navigate their way through difficult situations,” Rafiei wrote. “I can only hope that, given my contributions and achievements, my life and legacy will not be defined by this painful chapter, and that in time, my life will evolve well beyond this moment.”
Rafiei is expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana Feb. 6, but that date has not been confirmed, according to her attorney Alaleh Kamran. She faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI’s investigation was made public in May 2022 revealing Rafiei’s involvement in an ongoing corruption probe.
Affidavits described the FBI’s investigation into local pay-for-play schemes in Anaheim involving the city’s sale of Angel Stadium and described Rafiei’s arrest in 2019 on suspicion of bribing public officials.
According to her plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Rafiei said she agreed in 2018 to give at least $225,000 in bribes to Irvine City Council members in exchange for introducing and passing a city ordinance that would allow her cannabis clients to open retail stores in the city, the DOJ reported.
Rafiei founded Progressive Solutions Consulting, a Long Beach-based political consulting firm where she worked with cannabis industry clients and local politicians. In April 2018, Rafiei offered to introduce one of her clients in the medical cannabis industry to an Irvine politician.
A month later, she met with that same politician to discuss introducing the cannabis ordinance that would legalize retail medical cannabis and “ultimately benefit the individual’s business,” according to the DOJ. At that meeting, they discussed using a second member of Irvine City Council to introduce the ordinance, the DOJ said.
Soon after, investigators said Rafiei asked her client to pay her between $350,000 to $400,000 for getting the cannabis ordinance introduced.
“To avoid detection and mask the bribe payments to the Irvine elected officials, Rafiei planned to enter into legal retainer agreements with them,” the DOJ said.
A contract was drafted between Rafiei and one of the Irvine officials for “legal services” in the amount of $25,000. The official who agreed to pass the ordinance asked for $200,000, according to the DOJ’s report.
“Rafiei then instructed the business partner that the bribe payments would be disguised as attorney fees for legal services rendered to her various public affairs and campaign management companies,” the DOJ said. “The payments had to be ‘maneuvered’ in this way, she said, to circumvent the elected officials’ disclosure requirements.”
A year later in September and October 2019, Rafiei told a commercial cannabis company owner that, in exchange for at least $300,000, she would work to pass a cannabis-related ordinance in Anaheim specifically to benefit the victim’s business, but she had already been working on the ordinance for other paying clients, the DOJ said.
“Rafiei then falsely represented to the victim that she would keep only $10,000 of the payment in exchange for her purported work. In fact, Rafiei intended to keep $100,000 of the payment,” the DOJ said.
Rafiei also said $200,000 of the $300,000 would go to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, but she instead intended to split the $200,000 with an associate who was not affiliated with the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, according to the DOJ.
Investigations could continue into Rafiei’s dealings in Irvine following the federal plea arrangement. Irvine Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder announced on Twitter she would ask for an investigation into her alleged activities.
