By staff report

Four years after an FBI corruption probe surfaced in Anaheim, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce has filed a fraud lawsuit against its former president and CEO, Todd Ament, alleging he secretly colluded with political consultant Jeff Flint to defraud the organization. The 30-page complaint, filed May 15 in Orange County Superior Court, describes what it calls “a multi-year scheme of self-dealing, bribery, kickbacks and political influence peddling.” It alleges Flint bribed Ament into a conspiracy in which chamber consulting contracts benefited Flint’s corporate umbrella of companies, with proceeds circling back to Ament through what the suit calls “illegal kickbacks.” The complaint does not specify how the alleged bribery worked.

Flint, an influential Republican political consultant, is chief executive and senior partner at FSB Public Affairs, an Anaheim-based firm. He has represented high-profile clients including Angels owner Arte Moreno and the Disneyland Resort. Federal prosecutors have not accused Flint of any wrongdoing. The chamber alleges the scheme drained the organization’s assets and misused its political influence for the personal gain of Ament and Flint, totaling at least $1 million in damages. Octagon International Group, a company the two men co-owned, is named as a party in the suit.

Flint-Franco connection

Betty Martinez Franco, now a City Council member in Irvine, worked at Flint’s firm, FSB Public Affairs, in Anaheim during the period covered by the chamber’s allegations. According to her professional profile, she was an Account Executive at FSB from July 2017 to January 2022 and Senior Executive Account Manager from June 2017 to May 2022, work that included communications campaigns for clients such as the Orange County Transportation Authority. Martinez Franco was elected to the Irvine City Council in an April 2025 special election and is not accused of wrongdoing in the chamber’s suit.

The alleged kickback network

Earlier this year, TimesOC reporting revealed that Ament and Flint discussed secretive “win bonuses” and payment splits tied to Flint’s clients, including the Angels and developers of a boutique hotel near Disneyland. One ledger entry showed an even $300,000 split from Manatt Housing Solutions after Anaheim approved the company to manage a downtown apartment complex converted into rent-controlled workforce housing. Manatt was listed as a client of Octagon International Group.

Additional allegations against Ament

The complaint separately accuses Ament of steering chamber contracts to his own private company, TA Consulting, without board approval, and of embezzling chamber funds for personal expenses. Among the specifics: the suit claims Ament used the chamber’s operating account to make a $14,000 down payment on a $120,000 Range Rover at a Newport Beach dealership, and that he inflated his monthly car allowance and reimbursements. The chamber is seeking more than $2 million in compensation plus punitive damages.

Ament’s other legal exposure

Ament led the chamber from 2009 to 2021. In 2022 he accepted a plea deal admitting guilt to four felonies, including wire fraud related to retail cannabis licensing, stemming from the FBI probe that also halted the proposed sale of Angel Stadium and led to the conviction of former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu. Ament has since sought to withdraw from that plea deal, arguing he received poor legal advice; a ruling is pending. He also faces a possible $41,000 restitution order tied to a kickback he admitted receiving during a failed push to legalize retail cannabis in Anaheim.