A local lawmaker wants the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice to investigate if Anaheim and two nonprofits properly used $6.5 million in pandemic relief funds.
U.S. Rep. Lou Correa sent a letter on Wednesday, Jan. 31, to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking their agencies to investigate if pandemic relief funds from the city used by Visit Anaheim and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce broke any federal laws.
“Anaheim is going through what I would call a dark chapter,” Correa said in an interview. “It feels like we are almost out of this thing. I want to make sure all questions are to be asked.”
The California State Auditor in a report released Tuesday said Anaheim hasn’t properly managed its tourism contracts and millions in related funding, and needed to implement additional oversight and performance reviews. Correa said he wants the agencies to investigate to ensure the public funds were properly used, including $6.5 million the city paid Visit Anaheim during the pandemic to promote tourism recovery.
Correa’s request points out how state auditors said the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce used public money from Visit Anaheim over the last decade for “unallowable services that involved political advocacy and influence.” That money came from tourism district funds that are raised from hotel stays. Visit Anaheim receives millions a year from a 2% assessment on hotel room rates in a city tourism district that includes 94 hotels.
“The findings of the state audit raise serious concerns for my constituents, and the initiation of a federal investigation into this matter is in the best interest of taxpayers,” Correa wrote.
Correa’s letter also asked for the city to clarify the source of funds for that $6.5 million, citing a 2022 city document that says Anaheim allocated federal coronavirus assistance dollars to Visit Anaheim.
City spokesperson Mike Lyster said that document was wrong…
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