California Fish and Game commission member Darius W. Anderson, right, listens to testimony during a public meeting in May. The longtime lobbyist has been accused of fraud by his business partner Ron Burkle, who filed suit against Anderson last month.
RENÉE C. BYER
Sacramento Bee file
Darius Anderson, a longtime lobbyist in the state Capitol who played a role in the 2013 effort to keep the Sacramento Kings from leaving the city, stands accused of fraud by his longtime business partner Ron Burkle, a grocery store magnate whose wealth is estimated to be in the billions.
Both Burkle and Anderson have ties to Sacramento. Burkle twice was involved in attempts to purchase the Kings, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting, one of which was engineered in large part by Anderson.
Anderson is currently the vice president of the California Game and Fish Commission, to which Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him in 2024.
Burkle’s lawsuit against Anderson, filed last month, appears to be part of a bitter falling out between the two longtime business partners and friends, according to The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, which first reported on the litigation. Burkle filed the suit in Los Angeles County court.
In it, Burkle claims Anderson paid himself more than $16 million through his lobbying firm, Platinum Advisors, without the knowledge or consent of investors in the company, including Burkle.
“Anderson quietly orchestrated a decade-long campaign of self dealing — funneling millions to himself through undisclosed payments, creating secret competing entities, and systematically depriving his buisiness partner of every dollar owed,’ Burkle’s suit, a copy of which was obtained by The Bee, reads.
Anderson has countersued and accused Burkle of smearing his reputation amid a separate business dispute. According to Anderson’s lawsuit, Burkle sought an excessive payout when a private-equity backed purchaser emerged for the lobbying firm in 2025. “The proposed transaction would have yielded many millions of dollars to Mr. Burkle — far, far in excess of his original seed investment,” Anderson’s lawsuit contends. “Motivated by greed, (Burkle) demanded even more money.”
Burkle’s lawsuit claims he found out about the millions Anderson had paid himself when the politico sought to buy the billionaire out of his investment without sharing key financial information about Platinum Advisor’s earnings.
Grocery store magnate Ron Burkle sits on a stage in downtown Sacramento during a 2019 press conference announcing a Major League Soccer franchise for the city. Burkle ultimately backed out of the agreement, citing business concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. DANIEL KIM Sacramento Bee file
Anderson was the majority owner of Sonoma Media Investments, which owned The Press Democrat, until late last year. In May 2025, Sonoma Media Investments sold The Press Democrat and its sister papers to the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Anderson was also a prolific fundraiser for Newsom and hosted the wedding of Jason Kinney, a lobbyist and friend of the governor, according to previous Bee reporting. Kinney dined with Newsom at the French Laundry in Napa, at a now-infamous gathering that broke pandemic protocols and helped fuel the failed 2021 recall campaign.
Would be Kings owners
In 2013, when the Kings’ prior owners were proposing moving the team to Seattle, Anderson became heavily involved in efforts to keep the team in Sacramento.
The lobbyist helped secure Downtown Plaza as the site for the new Kings arena, putting together a deal with real estate developers to purchase the site and later sell it for a significant profit. At the same time, Anderson recruited Burkle as the heavy hitting investor behind a counteroffer to keep the team in Sacramento that ultimately fell through after Burkle pulled out.
The Kings stayed in Sacramento after NBA league owners vetoed the move to Seattle. The team’s current owner, Vivek Ranadive, and his own group of investors then purchased the company.
Anderson in 2014 sued Ranadive and other then-owners, claiming they had promised him an ownership spot with the team that they never delivered. Ranadive and his associates denied those claims.
Anderson quietly dropped his lawsuit a year later, without receiving a settlement, according to previous Bee reporting.
The Kings aren’t the only Sacramento sports franchise Burkle almost owned. In 2019, he appeared alongside Newsom, city officials and Major League Soccer executives to announce the creation of an expansion team for the league. But in February 2021, he suddenly pulled out of the deal, citing economic issues related to the pandemic.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 8:19 AM.
The Sacramento Bee
Andrew Graham reports for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, where he covers the Legislature and state politics. He previously reported in Wyoming, for the nonprofit WyoFile, and in Santa Rosa at The Press Democrat. He studied journalism at the University of Montana.