California's political watchdog agency said Monday it is recommending a $76,650 penalty against a donor accused of laundering political contributions to failed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel in 2013.
The agency also imposed fines against a campaign that supported Gov. Jerry Brown and a GOP state senator suspected of sending money to help a candidate for Assembly.
The fines are among several announced by the Fair Political Practices Commission and agreed to by the candidates and campaigns.
The largest fine was against Moo Han Bae of Tarzana. The agency said he hosted a fundraiser for then-mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel at his home, collecting checks for the maximum donation of $1,300 per person. In at least nine instances, the agency says, Bae repaid donors with envelopes of $1,300 in cash, violating campaign finance laws that limit contributions that can be made by each donor.
Bae acknowledged the claims in a settlement reached with the FPPC and has submitted a check for the state portion of the fines — $22,500. The rest of the money is recommended fines from the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
Greuel's campaign was unaware of the repayments, according to the filing. Bae did not immediately return a phone message left at his business Monday.
Other fines recommended by the commission include:
— $23,000 in fines against Sen. Jim Nielsen, Taxpayers for Nielsen, the Tehama County GOP and campaign accounts for former Assembly candidate Bob Williams for allegedly funneling contributions through the county party from Nielsen to Williams' campaign, for accepting over-the-limit donations and for receiving an unlawful gift.
The complaint says Nielsen, R-Gerber, made several contributions to the Tehama GOP that were understood to be intended to support Williams' campaign, four days after he reported giving $15,000, the party paid Nielsen's political firm $13,000 for radio ads for Williams.
Nielsen also acknowledges accepting Sacramento Kings basketball tickets from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation that were brokered through an intermediary.
"We are pleased to resolve a complaint filed by a political consultant working for an opposing candidate after 3 1/2 years and much expense," Charles Bell, treasurer for Nielsen's 2012 committee, said in a statement.
— $16,000 fine against Million More Voters, an independent expenditure committee funded by the California Labor Federation, AFLCIO, for failing to timely report $3.3 million in expenditures supporting Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and nearly $750,000 in spending supporting Democratic state Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2010.
Campaign treasurer Art Pulaski said the committee was newly formed at the time and made a mistake in its filing.
"We had a learning experience where our vendors reported to us how much they spend, but their invoice was incomplete in that it didn't say for whom," he said.
— $10,000 against the independent campaign expenditure committee Vote Matters and $6,000 against Coto for Senate 2012, for improper coordination between the committee and the campaign to elect former Assemblyman Joe Coto to the Senate. He lost the race.
— $4,000 against the campaign of Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, and a Santa Monica property owner for failing to disclose that Allen received discounted rent at his Santa Monica campaign headquarters. The equivalent of $8,200 in in-kind contributions was over the allowable limit.