Correa demands an investigation into the misuse of public funds in the City of Anaheim

WASHINGTON — Today, following the California State Auditor’s release of its audit alleging improperly managed public funds by the City of Anaheim, Representative Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen calling for an investigation into whether any federal laws were broken by the City or the recipients of the public funds.

Yesterday, the California State Auditor released its audit of public funds from the City that were received by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and Visit Anaheim. In light of these findings, Correa wrote to “express concern regarding allegations of improperly managed public funds from the City of Anaheim…by two 501(c)(6) nonprofit entities,” and urged the Department heads to “investigate this matter in order to determine whether any federal laws were broken, or any federal funds misappropriated.”

According to the state audit, City of Anaheim unnecessarily paid Visit Anaheim $6.5 million during the COVID-19 pandemic for an economic recovery contract despite the fact that Visit Anaheim already had millions in tourism district assessment reserves.

“The audit determined that the City had failed to maintain proper oversight policies that lead to questionable, and possibly illegal, use of funds,” he added. “Specifically, the audit found that ‘Visit Anaheim subcontracted with the Chamber to provide work related to promoting Anaheim’s tourism and convention industries. Visit Anaheim did this without the required written permission from the city and absent appropriate oversight from the city.’”

Correa highlighted that the findings of the state audit raise serious concerns for his constituents, and that “initiation of a federal investigation into this matter is in the best interest of taxpayers.”

You can read the full text of the letter HERE.

ABOUT LOU:

Congressman Lou Correa is a longtime Orange County resident, with deep local roots. To this day, he lives only three miles from his childhood neighborhood in Anaheim. He is the son of working-class parents whose hard work gave him a chance at success, and has spent his career fighting to protect the American Dream, and ensure anyone can reach the middle class, just as he did. In 2016, Lou was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to continue his work by representing the community he has spent the past 20 years serving, fighting to give everyone access to the same opportunity he had. Congressman Correa is committed to working across party lines to strengthen the middle class and give everyone a shot at the American Dream by investing in education, healthcare, and our fading infrastructure, and has introduced legislation to protect the legal rights of immigrants, care for veterans, and fight against the wasteful spending of taxpayer money.