California AG Rob Bonta Accused of Taking Bicycle Casino Donation While Investigating Cardroom

^{California Attorney General Rob Bonta stands accused of accepting improper campaign donations from people and businesses with criminal matters pending before him. (Image; Jeff Chiu / AP)}

California Attorney General Rob Bonta took a campaign donation from the Bicycle Casino while the venue was under investigation, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Bicycle Casino was under investigation when Bonta took office in 2021. The popular Southern California also donated $16,200 to his campaign to keep the job in the 2022 elections, the maximum donation allowed at the time under state law. 

Bicycle Failed to Report Large Cash Transactions

At that time, the California Bureau of Gambling Control – a division of the Attorney General’s office – was investigating the Bicycle, as it was under suspicion for failing to address money laundering. In particular, state and federal law enforcement officials were looking into over $100 million in cash transactions made at the cardroom by an unnamed Chinese national between January and July of 2016. 

In November 2021, federal officials reached a non-prosecution agreement with the Bicycle. As a part of that agreement, the cardroom’s operators paid $500,000 in penalties and admitted that they failed to properly file reports on the transactions made by the high roller. 

When that agreement was made public, Bonta announced that he would also take action, and filed a licensing complaint against the Bicylce, owner Leo Chu, and partner Thousand Palms Enterprises. 

“The federal government has taken action against Bicycle, and now it’s time to hold the casino accountable for alleged violations of our state laws,” Bonta said in a statement.

However, nothing ever came of that filing, and the case was dropped by the Attorney General’s Office in October 2024. In 2022, the Bicycle was solid for $102 million to Northern California gaming firm Parkwest Casinos, which rebranded the facility to the Parkwest Bicycle Casino. 

Parkwest Casinos is owned by John Park, and has also donated a total of $33,500 to Bonta’s campaigns during his career. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Park was never under investigation in regards to the previous case against the Bicycle, with press secretary Alexandra Duquet telling the Chronicle that it was likely an oversight that the allegations weren’t withdrawn for so long after the Bicycle changed hands.

Bonta Returned Donations from Improper Sources

Given the circumstances of the case, there’s no indication that the campaign donations from the Bicycle or Parkwest Casinos had any influence on Bonta’s investigation. However, that doesn’t eliminate the conflict of interest or the perception of corruption, especially when this is not the first time Bonta has taken contributions from businesses or individuals who were under investigation by him or his office.

Over the past few months, Bonta has returned at least $230,000 in donations from sources that might present conflicts of interest or the perception of impropriety. 

That includes more than $150,000 from the Duong family and associates after David Duong and his son Andy – leaders of Cal Waste Solutions – were indicted on bribery charges earlier in January, as well as $72,000 from lawyers representing Southern California Edison, who donated that money just days before Bonta announced he wouldn’t press charges against the company over its role in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which destroyed 1,643 structures and killed three people.

Bonta won reelection as California Attorney General in 2022, with the Democratic incumbent earning over 59 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Nathan Hochman. Bonta is seen as an early contender in the 2026 governor’s race in California, though he has not officially announced his candidacy.