Copyright Los Angeles Times
The U.S. attorney’s office is urging a federal judge to sentence former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce chief executive Todd Ament to one day in jail, or time served, based on his cooperation with the FBI in a political corruption probe. In connection with the investigation, Ament pleaded guilty to four felonies, including wire fraud related to a retail cannabis scheme in Anaheim, shortly after it publicly surfaced in 2022. His cooperation with authorities led to former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu’s conviction, which included two counts of lying to the FBI about the now-collapsed Angel Stadium deal. “Without Ament’s actions, the government likely could not have charged Sidhu,” a Nov. 4 sentencing memo reads. The government is seeking $225,000 in restitution for the cannabis company at the center of the scheme, on top of a $9,500 fine. While federal prosecutors did not seek to withdraw the cannabis-related wire fraud charge from Ament’s plea deal, as they have unsuccessfully tried before, they are also not objecting to a recent move by his attorneys to try to undo the entire agreement, which includes other felonies for wire fraud, lying to a mortgage lender and filing a false tax return. Ahead of his scheduled Nov. 14 sentencing date, Ament is arguing in court documents that he received poor legal advice from Sal Ciulla, his previous attorney, in agreeing to plead guilty to all four charges. “Ament made clear to his prior counsel that he could not admit to the facts alleged in the plea agreement,” the motion reads. “The reason: the facts were untrue.” Former chamber board member Jeff Farano declared he was present during the discussion and backed Ament’s account. In addition to reasserting that tighter wire fraud definitions no longer support the cannabis-related charge against him, Ament now also claims he took steps to amend his tax returns and repaid a bank mortgage loan as well as funds received from a federal pandemic small business loan before being contacted by authorities. Ament’s current legal team further alleges Ciulla did not make the “exculpatory” evidence available and lacked professional experience in federal white-collar crime cases. Ciulla did not comment on the claims. The eleventh-hour move comes on the heels of an October decision by U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, who declined to drop the cannabis-related charge against Ament after federal prosecutors failed to file supporting legal arguments backing their request. In addition to asserting his innocence, Ament criticized key moments of the FBI investigation, with which he has otherwise cooperated regarding several criminal leads through last fall. “Fearful and overwhelmed,” Ament agreed to work with authorities on the spot in late 2021, after he learned of a civil forfeiture case against his home that could be enforced, according to court documents. He claimed a prosecutor told him “cooperation can make these charges go away” but felt that to be an empty promise in pleading guilty to multiple crimes. While stopping short of alleging prosecutorial misconduct, attorneys argue Ament’s political connections as a Republican consultant and chamber leader made him a target. Ament is described as the “rival” of Melahat Rafiei, a former cannabis consultant and Democratic Party official who worked through the chamber for her cannabis company client and allegedly redirected the FBI investigation toward him. The $225,000 payment from her client to the chamber was used to establish a task force, which Ament insists legitimately worked on lobbying and polling efforts to legalize retail cannabis in Anaheim. The FBI investigation showed Rafiei and her client would not have paid the amount if they had known about Ament’s plan to pocket a portion of the funds. Rafiei secretly planned to retain a significant portion of the sum from her client, according to her plea agreement. Aenlle-Rocha bypassed federal prosecutors’ probation recommendation in the Rafiei case, instead sentencing her to six months in prison for attempted wire fraud. She is currently serving time at a medium-security penitentiary in Victorville. Ament’s attorneys are hoping to stave off this month’s sentencing for their client by scheduling a court date next month regarding his plea deal. With the cannabis-related wire fraud charge still intact, an attorney for the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce is also making a concerted push for the court to recognize the nonprofit as a victim of Ament’s criminal conduct. Attorney Dean Steward claimed in court documents the U.S. attorney’s office has not reached out to his client in any way since November 2022, when the chamber argued in a letter it deserved victim status in the case.
