Longtime Democratic leader and cannabis consultant Melahat Rafiei on Thursday confirmed she is the FBI’s prime cooperating witness in an unfolding Anaheim corruption investigation.
This week, that investigation stalled a $320 million deal to sell Angel Stadium. It also has led to calls for Mayor Harry Sidhu to resign over corruption allegations and resulted in federal charges against former Anaheim Chamber CEO Todd Ament.
Rafiei, who is a member of the Democratic National Committee and involved in campaigns for a number of prominent candidates, told the Register she’s been cooperating with the FBI in an investigation focused on corruption in Anaheim since 2019. She was arrested then on charges of “theft or bribery” involving federal funds — allegations she denies and that subsequently have been dismissed.
“In 2019, I was approached by the FBI who wrongly believed that I was involved in improperly influencing public officials,” she said in a statement Thursday morning. “I cooperated fully with the FBI — doing what I could to help in their effort to root out corruption in Anaheim city government.”
It was through Rafiei that the FBI “learned that the City of Anaheim was tightly controlled by a small cadre of individuals” including Sidhu and Ament, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Monday, May 16.
She used recording devices from the FBI to tape evidence that is now key to the charges brought against Ament. His eventual cooperation led to evidence that the FBI says indicates Sidhu shared confidential information with Angels Baseball while the city was negotiating the stadium deal in the hope that he would receive campaign contributions in return. The court records also allege that Sidhu concealed and possibly destroyed evidence, tampered with a witness and committed fraud to avoid paying taxes on a helicopter he purchased.
Rafiei, who is the former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County, first became involved through her role as a cannabis consultant.
On encouragement from Rafiei, one of her clients — From the Earth, a legal cannabis shop in Santa Ana — gave $225,000 to the Anaheim Chamber’s “cannabis task force,” with the understanding that the money would cover fees for attorneys and canvassers and other services needed to get a cannabis ordinance approved in a new city. Instead, FBI records allege that Ament, with help from an unnamed consultant, used some of that money personally, including for the purchase of a home in Big Bear City.
Asked about the investigation, Dan Zaharoni, CEO of From the Earth, said in an emailed statement: “We are continually disappointed that legitimate, law-abiding cannabis businesses like From The Earth are negatively affected by the corrupt and unethical practices of our existing political leadership. These people are a stain on our industry and must be brought to justice. We certainly intend to take all necessary legal action to hold accountable those who wronged our company.”
Rafiei declined to discuss the case further, adding in her statement that she has “faith in our legal system and I am confident that in the end, I will be vindicated and my name cleared of any involvement in public corruption.”
This is a developing story. Check back soon for more information.