Frequent GOP L.A. congressional candidate Omar Navarro charged with 43 federal counts of misusing campaign funds

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Frequent GOP L.A. congressional candidate charged with misusing campaign funds

Omar Navarro, a favorite of former President Trump’s MAGA movement for repeatedly challenging Democrat Maxine Waters for her congressional seat, was indicted Wednesday on 43 counts of misusing campaign funds, including funneling tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations back to himself through friends and family.

FBI agents also arrested Navarro’s mother, Dora Asghari, 59, of Torrance and a friend, Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, 34, of Long Beach. Both are accused of conspiring with Navarro to convert campaign donations to personal use. Navarro, 34, is in state custody on unrelated charges, according to the office of the district attorney for the Central District of California, but he is expected to be turned over soon to federal authorities.

The Republican is also accused of using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including trips to Las Vegas and wine country, as well as two criminal defense attorneys who helped him when he pleaded guilty to felony stalking in 2020. According to the indictment, Navarro later falsely reported these expenditures as campaign expenses to the FEC.