The South Bay Republican who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in an unsuccessful run against Rep. Maxine Waters, a four-time promoter of QAnon conspiracy theories, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for misusing campaign funds, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Omar Navarro, 37, pleaded guilty in June to one count of fraud for defrauding his election campaign. The candidate raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years from prominent right-wing figures while promoting QAnon conspiracy theories but never broke 25% of the vote.
He was sentenced by US District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who ordered that Navarro be returned to federal custody immediately. A restitution hearing will be scheduled at a later date to determine how much Navarro must pay in restitution to the victims.
Narvarro ran to represent the citizens of Los Angeles County in California’s 43rd district for the 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
From July 2017 to February 2021, he paid tens of thousands of dollars in contributions to his campaign committee through his mother, Dora Asghari, and friend Zacharias Diamantides-Abel, prosecutors said. In all, his scheme diverted nearly $266,000 in campaign funds, more than $100,000 of which went directly into his own pocket, prosecutors said.
“The defendant could have used that money to buy radio ads, buy advertising space, or send a mailman to help him in the election,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing letter. “He chose to steal his donors’ dollars and fund his lavish lifestyle, including using it to pay for Las Vegas trips, fancy dinners, and even criminal defense lawyers for his fraud case after he had the audacity to use his campaign funds to pay a private investigator to hunt him down.”
He created a charity called the United Latino Foundation to embezzle additional funds for his personal use. He also wrote checks for thousands of dollars to Brava Consulting, his mother’s company. This money was said to be a payment for campaign work, but most of it was returned to him.
Initially, Navarro publicly denied the allegations, writing to X last year that the claims were “baseless” and suggested that Waters himself had investigated the investigation. He pleaded guilty months later.
Prosecutors argued that a significant sentence was needed given the “pervasive nature” of his fraud and the discouraging of others from similar behavior that “undermines the foundation of the campaign finance system, a system designed to promote trust in government.”
Two other people connected to the case have also been charged.
Navarro’s mother pleaded guilty in June 2025 to another count of perjury after she lied to the FBI when questioned about her son’s campaign funding. He faces up to five years in state prison at his April 13 sentencing.
Diamantides-Abel pleaded guilty in May 2025 to another count of conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
