Mark Orozco, Beaumont Councilman, Indicted On Bribery And Perjury Charges

BEAUMONT, CA – Beaumont City Councilman Mark Orozco has been indicted by a criminal grand jury on several charges including one count of soliciting a bribe and nine counts of perjury related to campaign funds, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced Friday. Orozco has been on the council since 2014, part of a new wave of city leadership that promised to bring "change" to Beaumont.

According to the D.A.'s Office, Orozco falsely identified campaign funds on his required disclosure document. It's unclear what the bribery charge stems from. The charges against the councilman are unrelated to a separate criminal case that's pending for several former Beaumont city leaders.

“Our Public Integrity Unit does the difficult and necessary work of rooting out corruption in our community,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin said. “I appreciate and thank the City of Beaumont for their continued cooperation during the course of the investigation. It was only with the partnership of the Beaumont officials, that we were able to bring forth the indictment against Orozco. It is important to hold our community leaders to the highest standards in our continued efforts to deter political corruption in our county.”

• RELATED: Beaumont Releases Statement On Indictment of City Council Member

Orozco, 40, has arranged to surrender to authorities on May 25, according to Hestrin's office. At that time, he'll be arraigned on the criminal charges and bail will be set at $25,000.

The council member is facing 13 years in prison if convicted.

Patch left a message with Orozco requesting a comment, and will update this story if he provides one.

"Due to the confidentiality of the grand jury proceedings, no additional information about the evidence presented to the grand jury can be released at this time," the D.A.'s office said.

"By law, the transcript of the grand jury proceedings is sealed until 10 days after the defendant receives a copy of the transcripts. After that happens, the DA’s Office will request that the transcript be unsealed and it will then become a public record."

The investigation in to Orozco was launched after a complaint was made to the Public Integrity Unit of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, officials said.

SEE ALSO:

• Beaumont Councilman Mark Orozco Calls on Colleague to Resign
• Beaumont Releases Statement On Indictment of City Council Member

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