California Attorney General Rob Bonta is accused of accepting campaign contributions from a casino he was investigating.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta allegedly accepted at least one campaign donation from the Bicycle Casino while it was under investigation.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the donation, one of several he received, was given in May 2021, just a month after Bonta assumed office.
At the time, federal authorities and the California Bureau of Gambling Control, which operates under Bonta’s jurisdiction, were investigating the casino for alleged money laundering violations.
The state ultimately dropped the case.
Bonta’s campaign allegedly received multiple donations of $16,200, the maximum allowed by state law at the time. However, the Bicycle Casino’s contribution stood out due to the investigation.
Authorities were examining claims that the casino failed to properly report large cash transactions, an issue that could have resulted in significant fines or criminal charges.
The investigation focused on a gambler who conducted over $100m in cash transactions at the casino between January and July of 2016.
In November 2021, the federal government reached a $500,000 non-prosecution agreement with the Bicycle Casino.
As part of this agreement, the casino’s operators admitted they had not properly reported the gambler’s financial activities as required by anti-money laundering laws.
The same day, Bonta announced his office would take further action, filing a licensing complaint against the casino, its owner and its general partners, Thousand Palms Enterprises.
However, this complaint remained inactive for nearly three years before Bonta’s office dropped the case.
During this period, the Bicycle Casino’s assets were sold for over $100m. The new ownership, led by casino operator John Park, rebranded the establishment as Parkwest Bicycle Casino.
Park and his company also donated $16,200 to Bonta’s campaign in May 2021, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, shortly after he took office. In total, they contributed $33,500 to Bonta’s campaigns since 2017.
Alleged repeat offender
Bonta has faced scrutiny for accepting donations from entities under investigation by his office. In response to concerns, his campaign has returned at least $230,000 in contributions.
Among the refunded donations were $72,000 from attorneys representing Southern California Edison, a utility company that faced a criminal investigation over its role in a major fire in Woolsey in 2018.
Bonta’s office ultimately decided not to pursue charges against the company.
Additionally, Bonta’s campaign returned more than $150,000 in donations from members of the Duong family and their associates. The Duongs are leaders of Cal Waste Solutions, Oakland’s longtime recycling contractor.
In early 2025, David Duong and his son Andy were indicted on bribery charges alongside former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and her partner Andre Jones. All parties have pleaded not guilty.
Bonta’s campaign spokesperson, Nathan Click, stated that the campaign was unaware of the Bicycle Casino investigation when the donation was received. He also emphasised that new measures had been implemented to improve donor vetting.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office explained that the accusations against the Bicycle Casino were dropped due to its change in ownership, which occurred in April 2022.
The office also stated that the new owners were not involved in the previous legal issues.
Attorney General’s Office press secretary Alexandra Duquet acknowledged that the delay in withdrawing the accusations against the casino’s former owners may have been an oversight.
State records indicate that Leo Chu, the previous owner of the Bicycle Casino, now owns the Crystal Casino in Compton.