Carmel Partners Agrees to Pay $1.2M In Corruption Probe

San Francisco-based developer Carmel Partners will pay $1.2M to resolve a federal investigation into the company's relationship with former Los Angeles City Council Member Jose Huizar, who is facing a 41-count indictment in an expansive public corruption case.

Carmel Partners had not been named in the case, but one of its projects — a 35-story residential development in the Arts District — was under investigation in connection with the far-reaching case that centers on Huizar and development in Downtown LA.

"We are pleased to have reached a resolution of the Government’s investigation without any filing of charges. The NPA and the Statement of Facts that we signed does not include any admission or finding of criminal wrongdoing by the Company or its executives," a spokesperson for Carmel Partners said in a statement to Bisnow.

The payment is part of a three-year non-prosecution agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

As part of the agreement, Carmel Partners admitted certain facts to federal officials, including that Huizar had requested political contributions from the company, that it had made $75K worth of contributions to political action committees benefiting Huizar, and that a Carmel Partners executive working on the Arts District project met with Huizar and agreed "to obtain information on a person who was 'causing problems for Huizar’s family.'"

Carmel Partners' statement also notes that the Arts District project received helpful votes from Huizar in his capacity as a member of the Planning and Land Use Committee that resulted in a reduction to the number of affordable units in the development and the denial of an appeal to the project that was lodged by a labor union. 

Carmel Partners made the payment in December. It was also identified by a new name, CP Employer Inc., in the announcement of the payment.