A California Republican who ran for a Los Angeles County congressional seat four times has been indicted on charges related to misuse of campaign funds, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
Omar Navarro, 34, was charged with 43 counts. He's currently jailed on unrelated charges but will soon be taken into federal custody, the DOJ said.
The FBI also arrested Navarro’s mother, Dora Asghari, 59, and his friend Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, 34. Both are accused of conspiring with Navarro to convert campaign donations to personal use.
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"Navarro unsuccessfully campaigned in the four most recent election cycles to represent south Los Angeles County residents in California’s 43rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives," the DOJ said.
"The indictment returned on September 14 and unsealed today alleges that Navarro, from September 2017 through July 2020, illegally funneled campaign cash to himself. The indictment outlines a scheme in which Navarro allegedly made payments from his campaign to various individuals – including Asghari and Abel – and then directed the transfer of cash back to himself for personal use."
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Navarro reportedly used campaign funds to pay for personal expenses such as trips to Las Vegas and wine country. He also allegedly used some of the money for attorney fees. He falsely reported the payments as campaign expenditures to the Federal Election Commission.
Read the DOJ's press release here.
