Gravy Train Continues for a Consultant: Matthew Cunningham

The purpose of keeping tabs of those working on the taxpayers dime by living off of the gravy train is critical to ensure a full free transparency of our government, because our local newspapers are not doing the work as they should and the sleuthing falls on the shoulders of us here at The Fullerton Sentinel.

Recently, Friends for Fullerton's Future (FFFF) exposed Mr. Matthew Cunningham of a $30,000 contract work for the OCTA (Orange County Transportation Authority) "He's Baaaack! Matthew J. Cunningham Scores Some OCTA Gravy".

The FFFF raises serious questions about the contract: "scope of work that seems ridiculously inconsequential...it entails reading city agendas for transportation issues and telling the OCTA who’s on city councils and going to some meetings."

It doesn't end there, we have investigated further on Mr. Cunningham and it appears that he has been making rounds by trying to get work by selling his services.

The Metropolitan Water District of Orange County General Manager, Kevin Hunt, filed his April 2011 report to the MWDOC Board of Directors on page 224 of 224 by stating that MWDOC's David Cordero met with Mr. Cunningham:

David continues providing staff support to WACO and ISDOC. He recently organized the ISDOC Quarterly Meeting which featured a presentation by Matthew Cunningham (Pacific Strategies) on social media and why it should matter to local agencies and elected officials. He also organized the recent WACO Meeting featuring ACWA Executive Director, Tim Quinn.

Now, it be interesting to find out what was the scope of THAT meeting, which COULD benefit Mr. Cunningham. Boy, if we could only be a fly on THAT wall!

ISDOC refers to Independent Special Districts of Orange County and WACO refers to Water Advisory Committee of Orange County.

It appears that some continue to find ways to stay on the gravy train at taxpayers expense, but unfortunately we must keep tabs on the likes of Mr. Cunningham, so stay tuned!

Red County CEO in hot water with Securities and Exchange Commission

The SEC has filed suit against Red County CEO and repuglican blogger Chip Hanlon.  Among the many allegations in the suit is that Hanlon committed fraud and misrepresentation for his part in Delta Global Advisors' fraudulent SEC filings and website promotion. 

The Orange County Register's Jonathan Lansner posted the story via the Register's blog, Lansner on Real Estate- an odd place to post such a story.

It isn't much of a surprise for those in "the circle" although there are a lot of OC Republican investors who will be asking for a return on their investment. 

Lansner had this to say (from the OC Register):

In legal paperwork it released Thursday afternoon, the SEC charged Hanlon with, improperly filing as a registered investment advisor. The SEC wrote:

“From March 7, 2007 through July 6, 2008, Delta’s Form ADV filings improperly included the trusts’ assets as Delta’s advisory assets under management, even though Delta did not provide continuous and regular supervision of the trusts’ assets.”

… and …

“In four filings, Delta claimed to manage between $656 million and $1.49 billion, when in reality Delta’s assets under management dropped as low as $9 million during this period. For nearly every period reflected in Delta’s (financial advisor) filings, Delta did not have $25 million or more in advisory assets under management and therefore was not eligible for Commission registration.”

The SEC also charged that Hanlon did not disclose the shaky state of Delta Global, writing …

“Delta’s financial condition was seriously impaired in 2009 and 2010 because the firm had minimal liquid assets, overdue bills, and an unsatisfied court judgment in a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit filed by one of Delta’s clients that ordered Delta and Hanlon to pay $353,706 in damages. Delta and Hanlon did not disclose Delta’s precarious financial condition to clients as required, nor did they disclose the court judgment or the fact that (broker regulator) FINRA had suspended Hanlon from acting in any registered capacity for failing to comply with arbitration award.”

SEC claims Hanlon used Delta’s website to also mislead the public, stating:

“Delta similarly misrepresented its assets under management through its website. Delta’s website included a section containing articles from Bloomberg, Reuters, and other news sources quoting Delta’s employees, including Hanlon. Many of these articles falsely stated that Delta had assets under management of $1 billion or more.”

No word yet if Hanlon plans to share a room with either convicted felons Bernie Madoff or Mike Carona.