Beaumont Mayor Addresses Corruption Allegations Involving City Treasurer

BEAUMONT, CA — Just hours after the Riverside County District Attorney announced Beaumont's City Treasurer Anup Giresh "AJ" Patel was facing multiple felony charges, Mayor Jessica Voight addressed the allegations with a statement during the city council meeting on Tuesday night.

"Before we start our official agenda, I would like to address some news that has come out with regards to our elected city treasurer. I want our residents to know that the city remains focused on serving our community with transparency, accountability, and professionalism," Voight said.

"When the city's financial audit identified discrepancies in our hotel tax, the city pursued legal action to recover the unpaid fees and fines, referred the matter to law enforcement, and has cooperated with the district attorney's investigation. The allegations involve Mr. Patel's private business activities, and do not involve his role as city treasurer. The city will continue to protect the public's interest and provide verified information when appropriate," she continued.

Patel, who was elected in 2022, is facing six felony charges, including three counts of perjury, one count of identity theft, forgery, and false personation, according to the DA's office.

The charges were filed on Thursday.

According to the district attorney's office, Patel provided false information on Transient Occupancy Tax return forms related to a motel he owned and operated in Beaumont. He is accused of stealing another person's identity to communicate with the city and making false claims about the Transient Occupancy Tax he owed.

"An investigation by the District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit revealed that Patel submitted multiple Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) return forms to the City of Beaumont, signed under penalty of perjury, that stated he received $0 in gross rent for occupancy of rooms from April 2020 through December 2023 in a motel he operated in the city," the District Attorney's office said in a news release.

The city started an audit in January of 2025 on all lodgings from January 2021 through December 2023, which revealed Patel's motel collected $1,667,300.68 in gross rent from January 2021 through December 2023.

The District Attorney's office alleged Patel owed the city $166,730.07 in Transient Occupancy Tax in addition to penalties for the timeframe.

Patel was also accused of stealing another person's identity and to create a fraudulent lease agreement and communicate with the City of Beaumont regarding the Transient Occupancy Tax owed to the city, according to prosecutors.

If convicted on all counts, Patel faces up to six years and four months in state prison if convicted.

Patel is the most recent Beaumont official to face a public corruption charges.

In 2016, seven Beaumont officials were arrested and charged after an unrelated public corruption investigation by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. The officials were arrested more than a year after the FBI and Riverside County District Attorney's office raided several locations connected to the city of Beaumont. The district attorney's office said the arrested officials faced embezzlement charges, alleging almost $43 million was taken.

In 2017, William Kevin Aylward, 54, of Cherry Valley, David William Dillon, 64, of Temecula, Ernest Alois Egger, 61, of Mendocino, and Alan Charles Kapanicas, 65, of Palm Desert admitted wrongdoing under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Former police Chief Frank Coe, 53, and former public works Director Deepak Moorjani, 71 pleaded guilty in October 2017.

Former city attorney Joseph Sandy Aklufi plead guilty in September 2018 to one misdemeanor charge of willful failure to perform the duties of a public officer. The DA's office dropped seven counts of felony embezzlement by a public official in exchange for the plea.

Patel posted bail in the amount of $30,000 and is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment hearing on Oct. 26, according to the DA's office.