A longtime mainstay conservative candidate for voting local elections may have to end his political aspirations for good after signing a contract with federal prosecutors over fraud.
Omar Navarro was accused of being a four-time Congressional candidate on Wednesday, accusing him of collecting thousands of dollars of campaign funds for his personal use as part of the judiciary agreement.
Navarro has failed to win Congressional seats in multiple campaigns against Rep. Maxine Waters, but has attracted the attention of well-known Republican and right-wing politicians like Roger Stone, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Alex Jones, who have raised thousands of dollars in his non-inadequate campaign.
However, the 2023 Republican candidate was charged with 43 counts of wire fraud and misuse of a campaign fund, focusing tens of thousands of dollars for his personal use through his mother and best friend.
As part of his contract with the prosecutor, Navarro agreed to plead guilty to single wire fraud, a felony in which he loses his right to vote or take office.
Navarro’s lawyer David Evans declined to comment.
According to the initial complaint, Navarro had no other source of income other than campaign funds, but between January 2018 and July 2020, prosecutors allege that he deposited more than $100,000 in cash in his personal account.
Investigators discovered that Navarro’s mother, Dora Asgali, 59, and his friend, Zacharias Diamantid Abel, 34, often pay for cash campaigns. When checks were deposited in a bank account, they often quickly withdraw the money and share it with Navarro.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Navarro used money from campaign donations for a trip to Las Vegas, Wine Country, and paid for his legal defense in the 2020 stalking case.
According to the initial complaints, Diamantides-Abel and Asghari received $49,260 and $58,625 from Navarro’s failed campaign between December 2017 and June 2020, respectively.
On Wednesday, Asgari pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during an investigation. Diamantides-Abel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both will be declared on a future date.
However, Navarro’s mother and friends were not the only way to cash out the funds they gave. Federal prosecutors claim that Navarro will establish a fake charity called the United Latino Foundation and embezzle the money for his personal use.
He attracted attention when he ran for Waters in 2016, and again in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Despite his infamy, he consistently received less than 25% of the votes in the election.
Navarro is also an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and has promoted conspiracy theories on his social media accounts.
In 2020, Navarro posted a canon plot slogan on Twitter, promoting Pizzagate on social media. That conspiracy theory ultimately led to gunfire.
Earlier this month, Navarro took him to social media and said the accusations against him were politically motivated.
“I seriously need help,” he posted to X. [Maxine Waters] I’m running for Congress. ”
This is not the first time Navarro has been caught in legal trouble, and his legal issues coincides with his inauguration.
In 2016, he was sentenced to 18 months on probation after placing a tracking device in his estranged wife’s vehicle for a day in the prison in Orange County.
In 2017, he resigned as Torrance Transport Commissioner after the video showed him in the back seat of the car.
In 2018 he was approached by the FBI after Waters posted a fake letter claiming he wanted to resettle Somali refugees in the Los Angeles area.
In 2019, he was arrested after being found outside his ex-girlfriend’s home, violating the restraining orders she had obtained against him.
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