O.C. political consultant Melahat Rafiei sentenced to 6 months prison for wire fraud

A former Orange County Democratic Party leader and political consultant was sentenced by a federal judge last week to six months of federal prison and fined $10,000 for her role in a public corruption case.

Melahat Rafiei — former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County and one-time director of the O.C. Fair board — pleaded guilty in January 2023 in Los Angeles federal court to attempting to rip off a client for her political consultancy firm and a bribery scheme involving two members of the Irvine City Council.

The 47-year-old Anaheim resident cooperated with authorities to help them build a case against former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce chief executive Todd Ament, who pleaded guilty in July 2022 to defrauding a cannabis company, loan fraud and tax cheating,

Ament also agreed to cooperate with the FBI and later wore a wire in meetings with former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu that incriminated the city leader of wrongdoing tied to a failed Angel Stadium sales deal.

While both Ament and Rafiei were scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22, Ament’s hearing was postponed to a date yet to be determined. The government’s filings related to an updated plea deal for the former chamber executive and sentencing were sealed.

Federal prosecutors recommended Rafiei be sentenced to a year of probation and a $10,000 fine in exchange for her help in the Ament and Sidhu probes.

U.S. District Court Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha determined otherwise, ordering a six-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release, including six months of home detention.

Prosecutors maintained the FBI approached Rafiei in late 2019 about her role in a bribery scheme involving two city council members in Irvine and she “quickly agreed to cooperate with the government.” That collaboration led to charges being filed against Ament and Sidhu, the latter of whom was sentenced this year to two months behind bars.

As part of Rafiei’s plea deal, prosecutors agreed to back off on pursuing a case against her in the bribery scheme. Probation officials had said Rafiei should face between 51 to 63 months for wire fraud. But given her level of cooperation she should not face time behind bars or anything more than six months, prosecutors said in court papers.

Under the bribery scheme, Rafiei in 2018 agreed to hand over $225,000 to the two Irvine council members, so they would pass an ordinance allowing one of her clients to open a cannabis store in the city. In a call with a confidential source she believed was her client, Rafiei sought between $350,000 and $400,000 to get the ordinance going.

Rafiei told the source that one council official had asked for $25,000, while another asked for $200,000. She also said in the conversation that for $300,000 she would try to do the same for the would-be client in Anaheim, according to prosecutors.

“In fact, [the] defendant was already working on such an ordinance for other paying clients,” prosecutors alleged in court filings. “And while [Rafiei] represented to the confidential source that she would only keep $10,000 of the payment, she in fact intended to keep $100,000 of that payment.”

After the former political consultant was confronted by the FBI, she spent a year helping agents, including wearing a wire in meetings. Without her help the prosecutors “likely could not have charged Ament or Sidhu,” the legal team alleged in documents.

“Rafiei devoted a significant amount of time to her cooperation, provided information that was truthful and timely, and risked her own political, business and personal connections and reputation to do so,” they continued.

Rafiei’s attorney, Jennifer Wirsching, also argued for probation in court papers, noting that her client worked with investigators for nearly two years and was instrumental in helping to sink the city’s $320-million deal to sell Angel Stadium to the team’s owner, Arte Moreno.

The attorney also pointed out Rafiei is raising a 12-year-old son and cared for her ex-husband and his wife when they both fell seriously ill.

Former Irvine Councilmember Beth Krom wrote a letter in support of Rafiei, describing how she helped Krom and her family after her 22-year-old son died.

In the case of Ament, who pleaded guilty to defrauding a company of $225,000 and pocketing $41,000 of it, according to a plea agreement, prosecutors were seeking to have one count of wire fraud dismissed.

Ament agreed that in exchange for the $225,000 to the chamber of commerce he would start a cannabis task force that would draft an ordinance to legally sell the drug inside city limits.

The 60-year-old Orange resident also admitted applying for a COVID-relief loan for his consulting company; when he received the $61,900, he spent the money on clothes, also paying boat dealers and the property taxes on his home.

Ament further admitted lying to his bank that $205,000 he loaned to himself was earned income and cheating the government out of $249,998 in taxes in 2017-2019.

Another issue was raised in the case when attorney Dean Steward, who represents the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, filed a motion requesting the chamber be added to the list of victims in line for restitution.

Steward said the organization was a victim and maintained it has been left out of the loop in talks about restitution in error, arguing the chamber deserves $264,330.

The attorney argued that Ament pocketed $30,000 in money intended for the chamber and said the chamber lost $147,433 in revenue because of Ament and Sidhu’s corruption, among other losses, including its ability to raise vital funds and revenue in the wake of the corruption scandal.

Daily Pilot staff writer Sara Cardine contributed to this report.