Melahat Rafiei, a former political consultant and Democratic Party of Orange County executive who became a key witness in the FBI’s corruption investigation in Anaheim, was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office had supported a probation sentence, but U.S. District Court Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha handed down the 6 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rafiei must also pay a $10,000 fine.
Rafiei, Aenlle-Rocha said, “made her living because of our democracy,” but then used her position in politics to “prioritize her financial gain over public good.”
“Conduct like hers threatens public trust,” Aenlle-Rocha said. “Ms. Rafiei did not do any of this out of desperation.”
That decision stunned Rafiei, her attorney and the more than a dozen friends and family who had come to show their support. Rafiei turned to her attorney and then the gallery with a look of shock before breaking into tears.
After prosecutors secured a bribery charge against Rafiei in 2019, she became a key witness for the FBI “to help expose corruption in the Anaheim government,” leading to guilty pleas from former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu and former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Ament, according to her defense attorney, Jennifer Wirsching. Once the federal investigation into Sidhu and Ament became public in 2022, the $320 million sale of Angel Stadium was canceled just before it was final.
In her plea deal, Rafiei admitted that in 2018 she was offering a cannabis company the opportunity to bribe Irvine councilmembers in exchange for getting their support in introducing and passing a law allowing retail cannabis stores to open in the city. That was why FBI agents originally arrested her.
That bribery charge against Rafiei was later dropped. No councilmembers were named in her plea agreement, nor have any allegations against any councilmembers been made by prosecutors. No current councilmembers were serving at that time.
In her January 2023 plea deal, Rafiei admitted to one count of attempted wire fraud for falsely representing to the cannabis company owner that $200,000 she had requested for lobbying services would go to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce when she instead intended to split it equally between herself and an associate not affiliated with the chamber.
Neither Anaheim nor Irvine ended up passing any retail cannabis laws.
The judge also said he found that there was a “clear intent” by Rafiei to conceal how money in the scheme moved around.
Rafiei did not speak after the hearing. A friend of hers shared a prepared statement written on her behalf by a public relations firm.
“Today marks the end of a long, painful journey for Ms. Rafiei and, understandably, the closing of this chapter has caused heightened emotions and profound reflection,” the statement said.
It continued, saying that Rafiei wants to process the moment and will share her story with the media in the coming week.
Before Rafiei was sentenced, she thanked the court and said to the judge, “Whatever (sentence) you hand down, I know will be just.”
The judge asked Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Rabbani, who helped prosecute the case, to explain the “full scope of corruption in Anaheim and Irvine.”
Rabbani told the court she was not aware of any large corruption scheme in Irvine and nothing else beyond what came up in the Ament and Sidhu cases.
Rabbani again credited Rafiei for helping reveal “a larger corruption scheme.” Rafiei worked with the FBI for more than a year and participated in secretly recording others in meetings and phone calls.
Aenlle-Rocha said Rafiei was convicted of a “serious offense” and acknowledged that she could have been charged with bribery as well.
“To her credit … Ms. Rafiei provided substantial assistance to the government,” Aenlle-Rocha said.
Rafiei was born in Iran and left with her family during the Islamic Revolution before eventually making her way to the United States. Aenlle-Rocha, who was born in Cuba, said immigrants, more than most, cherish America’s democracy, and reprimanded her for abusing democracy for her own gain.
He added that he came to his decision for imprisonment because it would counter any message that those who commit white collar crime or have means can escape serious punishment.
Prosecutors ahead of the hearing told the judge in filings that without Rafiei, the government would likely not have been able to charge Ament or Sidhu.
Sidhu spent about a month in prison this summer for his corruption charges. Rafiei’s supporters expressed shock outside the courtroom after the hearing that she would end up spending more time in prison than he would.
Rafiei is scheduled to surrender on Sept. 26. She must pay $5,000 of her fine immediately and the rest in installments.
Ament appeared in court on Friday before Rafiei, but his sentencing has been postponed again. He also became a witness for the FBI’s case against Sidhu and prosecutors have proposed removing one of his charges.
Rafiei had been a political consultant for several Orange County elected leaders. She was the executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County from 2007 to 2009 and later became secretary for the California Democratic Party in 2021. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her to the OC Fair Board in 2021. She resigned from those positions in May 2023.