A Republican from the South Bay who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars running unsuccessfully against Rep. Maxine Waters four times while promoting QAnon conspiracy theories was sentenced to four years in federal prison for misusing campaign funds, the Department of Justice announced Monday.<\/p>\n
Omar Navarro, 37, pleaded guilty in June<\/a> to a single count of wire fraud for defrauding his own election campaign. The perennial candidate had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars<\/a> over the years from prominent right-wing figures while promoting QAnon conspiracy theories but never cracked 25% of the vote.<\/p>\n He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who ordered Navarro immediately remanded into federal custody. A restitution hearing will be scheduled at a later date to determine how much money Navarro must pay to compensate victims.<\/p>\n Narvarro ran to represent Los Angeles County residents in California\u2019s 43rd Congressional District in the 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles. <\/p>\n From July 2017 to February 2021, he funneled tens of thousands of dollars in donations to his campaign committee back to himself through his mother, Dora Asghari, and friend Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, prosecutors said. In total, his scheme diverted around $266,00 in campaign funds, more than $100,000 of which went directly into his pocket, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n \u201cDefendant could have used that money to buy radio advertisements, purchase billboard space, or send a mailer to aid him in the election,\u201d prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. \u201cHe chose instead to steal his donors\u2019 dollars and fund his lavish lifestyle, including using it to pay for Las Vegas trips, fancy dinners, and even criminal defense attorneys for his criminal stalking charge after he had the audacity to use his campaign money to pay a private investigator to stalk her.\u201d<\/p>\n He set up a sham charity called the United Latino Foundation to embezzle additional funds for his personal use. He also wrote thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of checks to Brava Consulting, a company owned by his mother. This money was allegedly payment for campaign work, but the bulk of it was simply funneled back to him.<\/p>\n