Federal prosecutors are recommending a day in jail, or time already served, for former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Todd Ament as a reward for his cooperating with authorities in taking down former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu in the failed Angel Stadium sales deal, according to a sentencing brief obtained Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ament’s attorneys have filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing he got bad advice from his prior attorney, Sal Ciulla. Ament’s motion to withdraw his plea comes after U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha rebuffed prosecutors’ attempts to dismiss a wire fraud count against Ament.
Ament pleaded guilty in July 2022 to defrauding a cannabis company in addition to loan fraud and tax cheating.
Melahat Rafiei, a former Orange County Democratic Party executive director, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for her role in the public corruption case. Rafiei pleaded guilty to attempting to rip off a client for her political consultancy firm and a bribery scheme involving two Irvine City Council members.
Rafiei wore a wire to help authorities build a case against Ament, who later wore a wire himself when meeting with Sidhu that led to his conviction and a two-month prison sentence in the failed Angel Stadium sales deal.
The U.S. Probation Office has recommended 30 to 37 months in federal prison and that Ament should face $10,000 to $1 million in fines.
Federal prosecutors had argued Ament should face 18 to 24 months behind bars, but given his cooperation in the Sidhu investigation he should instead face zero to six months in prison, according to a sentencing brief filed Tuesday.
“Based on defendant’s cooperation, the government respectfully recommends that the court impose a sentence of one day (time served),” according to the brief from Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Rabbani.
Prosecutors also recommended restitution of $225,000 and a fine of $9,500.
Ament’s attorneys argue that their client got bad legal advice when he pleaded guilty in the case. They also argue there is not enough evidence in the wire fraud count to sustain a conviction.
“Mr. Ament made clear to his prior counsel that he could not admit to the facts alleged in the plea agreement,” his attorneys Daniel Silva and Ashwin Ram argued in court papers filed Tuesday.
“The reason: the facts were untrue,” the defense attorneys added. “Despite his protests of his innocence and an inherently flawed factual basis, prior counsel directed Mr. Ament to plead guilty, to proffer his guilty pleas to the court, and to accept the factual basis at his plea hearing.”
Ament waited to contest the guilty plea until he was finished cooperating with investigators through last fall “on multiple criminal investigations,” his attorneys said. Also, his current attorneys “privately raised arguments with (prosecutors) that the information alleged facts that did not amount to criminal conduct,” according to the motion.
The defense attorneys argued that Ament was “targeted due to his political connections” as a Republican strategist.
The attorneys argued that Ament’s prior attorney “had exceedingly limited experience defending subjects and targets of federal white-collar investigations.”
Ament was “fearful and overwhelmed” when he agreed to cooperate with authorities following a “civil forfeiture case filed” against his home, his attorneys said. Ament claimed he was told by a prosecutor that if he cooperated the charges against him would “go away,” his attorneys said.
“With these promises, FBI special agents immediately asked Mr. Ament about politically conservative, pro-business (political action committees) in Orange County,” his attorneys said. “Mr. Ament warned that he had never engaged in bribery or other corrupt influence activities.”
Ament’s work helped lead to Sidhu receiving a two-month sentence in federal prison for registering a helicopter he bought out of state to avoid taxes and for obstructing justice in the stadium deal negotiations.
The defense attorneys noted how prosecutors with the state Attorney Genera’s Office made a search warrant against Sidhu public alongside the complaint against Ament to kill the stadium deal.
“Mr. Ament later learned that Melahat Rafiei was the original target” of federal prosecutors, Ament’s attorneys said.
Rafiei was flipped to target Ament, his attorneys said.
“Ms. Rafiei redirected the (prosecutors’) attention to her political rival — Mr. Ament — even though she was engaged in multiple instances of theft, bribery and fraud,” Ament’s attorneys said.
Rafiei admitted to bribing Irvine officials, planning to steal from the cannabis company and dangling bribes to Anaheim City Council members, but “none of this had anything to do with Mr. Ament, the chamber of commerce, or Mayor Sidhu,” his attorneys said.
Ament also denied defrauding the Chamber of Commerce.
Still to be determined is a motion to include the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce as a victim in the case. The dismissal of the wire fraud count could have scuttled that case. Attorney Dean Steward, who represents the chamber, has argued in court papers that it deserves $264,330 in restitution.