Los Angeles County finds itself at the center of a federal corruption probe, with authorities alleging that a portion of the funds earmarked for its 2020 voting machines was funneled into a bribery ‘slush fund’ by executives of Smartmatic, the U.K.-based election technology company. This development, rooted in a broader federal criminal case, casts a shadow over the integrity of past election contracts and adds a complex layer to Smartmatic’s ongoing legal battles.
The Core of the Allegations
Federal prosecutors in Florida contend that Smartmatic co-founder Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez and two other company officials—Jorge Miguel Vasquez and Elie Moreno—engaged in a business model where bribery was inherently embedded. The heart of the scheme, as detailed by the Department of Justice, involved allegedly overbilling for voting machines and related services, subsequently diverting the surplus cash into a covert slush fund. These illicit payments, exceeding $1 million, were reportedly made to secure and maintain lucrative contracts, specifically those tied to the 2016 Philippine elections, which were valued at over $180 million. The alleged recipient of these bribes was Juan Andres Bautista, the former chairman of the Philippine elections commission, who is also facing indictment in a separate case and is currently reported to be in hiding.
While the federal probe explicitly links the slush fund to overcharging and bribery in the Philippines, prosecutors have not yet publicly identified who benefited from the alleged diversion of Los Angeles County taxpayer money. However, in court filings related to its separate defamation lawsuit, Fox News has asserted that it “now seems irrefutable” that L.A. County taxpayer dollars were channeled into this very slush fund.
L.A. County’s Role and Response
Los Angeles County, as the nation’s most populous local voting jurisdiction, awarded Smartmatic a substantial $282 million contract in June 2018 for its “Voting Solutions for All People” (VSAP) system, designed to overhaul the county’s antiquated voting infrastructure. This decision followed a significant glitch during the California primary that year, which saw 118,000 voter names missing from rosters.
Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and Clerk, has acknowledged regular meetings with Smartmatic co-founder Roger Piñate. In response to the allegations, Logan has vehemently stated that the county is being used as a “pawn” in both the federal corruption case and a separate civil lawsuit. He maintains that the “voluminous records” released by the county refute the “salacious allegations.” However, Fox News, in its legal filings, has alleged that Logan received undisclosed “business class travel, expensive entertainment, and other personal benefits” from Smartmatic, cultivating an “unusually close relationship” with company executives.
Broader Implications and Defamation Battles
This federal investigation significantly complicates matters for Smartmatic, which has been prominently featured in national News headlines following the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The company has been embroiled in multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuits against several media outlets, including Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network (OAN), for broadcasting false claims that its technology helped rig the election against former President Donald Trump. Smartmatic’s technology was used exclusively in Los Angeles County during the 2020 election, not in any
