Tai Sunnanon charged with embezzlement

Tai Sunnanon, a a single-time chair of West Hollywood’s General public Services Commission, has been charged with embezzlement by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Place of work, in accordance to the organization he allegedly stole from. 

The California Impartial Towns Association filed a criticism with the Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 5, 2021, alleging that Sunnanon embezzled $47,937 from the firm wherever he labored below contract as executive director from June 2017 to September 2019. In accordance to the grievance, Sunnanon took control of a payment processing platform by which CICA obtained income for such things as function tickets and had these payments directed to his individual Chase Lender account.

CICA is a non-gain organization designed up of practically 40 towns in the Southern California region that focuses on general public basic safety, instruction, infrastructure, legislative advocacy, intergovernmental associations and other challenges that transcend the boundaries of its member towns. The towns that are among its customers include Beverly Hills, Culver Metropolis, Glendale, Extended Seashore, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica.

In accordance to the criticism, Nehrenheim initial observed in November 2019 that payments for 6 of the tickets offered for CICA’s 2019 Winter Seminar event, every single costing $600, weren’t appearing in the CICA bank account. Nehrenheim stated he requested Sunnanon about individuals payments and then out of the blue uncovered that the CICA payment processing system was shut down.  He reached out to Stripe, operator of the method, which agreed to re-activate the method. Nehrenheim reported that Sunnanon claimed that his accountant had accidentally  misdirected the payments to Sunnanon’s private lender account. Nehrenheim questioned why Sunnanon’s accountant would have had obtain to the CICA account.

In the Sheriff’s Department report, Nehrenheim states Sunnanon agreed to repay the money from the six function tickets and despatched CICA a test in the quantity of $2,915 from the Strategic Insights Team, a non-income business founded by Sunnanon. Nonetheless, Nehrenheim mentioned, that $2,915 amount of money was much less than the $3,494 that Stripe was meant to have transferred to the CICA account after deducting $106 in transaction fees.

Nehrenheim instructed the Sheriff’s Section that though Sunnanon resigned as CICA’s govt director on Sept. 26, 2019, he volunteered to go on performing with the group until it transitioned to a new director, and Nehrenheim, then the organization’s treasurer, was not granted handle of the Stripe account right until March 2020.

On March 13, 2020, CICA’s legal professional despatched Sunnanon an e-mail demanding payment of the approximately $45,000 in remaining money that experienced been diverted to Sunnanon’s own financial institution account. Sunnanon “responded to the e-mail stating he was on a mission with the United States Air Power without having obtain to e-mail or cellular phone,” suggests the Sheriff’s Division report. Having said that, the report notes that Sunnanon posted announcements on line about an impending webinar on March 26, 2020, an sign that he was not on energetic obligation.

A search of a U.S. Section of Protection databases exhibits that considering that March 18, 2020, Sunnanon has only been on lively duty from Might 25, 2020 to Sept. 19, 2020. CICA’s lawyer despatched licensed copies of the payment demand from customers letter on April 9 and April 13 to Sunnanon’s mailing tackle on Havenhurst Drive, which also is shown as the deal with of his Strategic Insights Team. 

Sunnanon’s Strategic Insights Team at first was registered with the condition of California in 2015 as a 501 c3 (non-gain) business beneath the title “si3 consulting group.”

By means of SIG, Sunnanon also experienced labored on  numerous political strategies. Just one was the Yes on Evaluate B campaign in  Burbank in 2016, which was an hard work to pave the way for development of a new terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport. Sunnanon filed a grievance with the point out Honest Political Practices Fee alleging that Preserve Burbank Neighborhoods, a resident team opposing Evaluate B, was a marketing campaign committee and did not register as just one.  The FPPC rejected his declare, expressing there was no proof that the team been given $2,000 or much more in marketing campaign donations for the duration of a calendar yr, which would have expected it to sign-up.  

Sunnanon also managed the productive No on Measure N campaign in Glendale in 2016, which was funded by developers these as Rick Caruso and metropolis distributors. The No on Measure N campaign was an exertion to block passage of a ballot evaluate that would have repealed a town tax that citizens paid on their utility costs. Supporters of Measure N argued that profits from that tax was utilized to pay exorbitantly significant wages to town officers.

For the Social Good, another  business developed by Sunnanon in Oct 2015 (despite the fact that not as a non-income), was dissolved in January 2017 just after a controversy above its use of WeHo’s French Market place constructing at 7985 Santa Monica Blvd. as  workplace area for “socially conscious” corporations. Sunnanon’s For the Social Superior entered into a contract with Faring, the developer that owns the residence, beneath which Faring allowed the non-financial gain to use business office house in the developing for community companies till Faring finally attained the necessary approvals to change the French Sector into workplace room and a restaurant and bar. 

Non-profit tenants at the French Market underneath this For the Social Superior system integrated the  Lavender Result,  an business shaped to chronicle LGBT history  the Dance Resource Center  the  Southeast European Movie Festival the  Los Angeles Volleyball Association, and  Mercy for Animals. Other for-income tenants incorporate GTM, a visa and passport agency EKLaw, a legal firm Glam Creation Consulting, and West Hollywood Media Corporation, then publisher of WEHOville and West Hollywood Journal.

These businesses compensated rents well under the market place level and paid For the Social Great an more $150 a thirty day period to cover the expenditures of workshops, education and learning courses and education functions. However, Sunnanon did not offer people companies and Faring, which was said to have paid out $14,000 a thirty day period for taxes, routine maintenance, utilities and security for the assets, did not get any of the rent cash paid out by the tenants to For the Social Excellent. Just a handful of months following the opening of the For the Social Good house, Sunnannon explained he was handing it again to Faring, which prepared to raise the rents sharply.  Faring, experiencing issues from the tenants, agreed to enable them  stay in the place right up until August 2017  with no increase in their rents.

Even though working as executive director of the California Impartial Towns Association, Sunnanon also was included in a dispute with Vivian Romero, a member of the City Council of Montebello, a CICA member. Sunnanon questioned a choose to difficulty a restraining order versus Romero, who he reported experienced shoved him and known as him a liar and a thief at a CICA convention in Santa Barbara in January 2018.  Romero claimed that Sunnanon experienced failed to fork out Shannon Calland, her passionate husband or wife, who had been employed by Strategic Insights Group to operate as a advisor.  A judge reported he did not believe that that contacting Sunnanon a liar and thief warranted issuing a restraining purchase, and he purchased Sunnanon to pay out $3,000 to Romero to deal with lawful costs associated with Sunnanon’s claim.

On his social media platforms, Sunnanon calls out his perform for the Peace Corps, for which he was acknowledged in March 2020 with a “40 Under 40 Leadership Award.” He also claims that he was t
he founder in 1996 of California Want (Doing work in Guidance of the Homeless) and in 2006 of SeaVit, an organization in Southeast Asia made with the assist of the federal government of the Philippines to extract natural vitamins from oysters to handle vitamin deficiency among the South East Asian small children.  A look for of IRS and Condition of California enterprise registration databases turns up no point out of California Would like although SeaVit is not registered in California or the Philippines.

Sunnanon was elected as a delegate to the California Democratic Social gathering symbolizing District 50. He ran on the “Grassroots Slate” and acquired the endorsements of the late Ivy Bottini, Beverly Hills City Councilmember John Mirisch, West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmember John Erickson, LA County Assessor Jeffrey Prang,  and condition Assemblymember Richard Bloom.  

Sunnanon had been an at-huge member of the West Hollywood General public Facilities Commission, which means he was endorsed by a bulk of the Metropolis Council members.