Schmerelson Investigation Launched Over Inaccurate JUUL Stock Reporting Claim
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The Enforcement Division of the state Fair Political Practices Commission has launched an investigation into claims that San Fernando Valley School Board Member Scott Schmerelson (BD3) failed to accurately report his ownership of stock in Altria, the tobacco giant that owns e-cigarette company JUUL, which Los Angeles Unified is suing.
Galana West, chief of the Enforcement Division, sent two letters Friday addressing two complaints filed by parent activist Kenchy Ragsdale.
West said the FPPC “would not pursue an enforcement action” against Schmerelson over allegations that he violated conflict of interest laws when he voted in closed session last October on LAUSD’s lawsuit against vaping company JUUL, which is responsible for getting a whole new generation of teenagers hooked on nicotine with its flavored tobacco products.
However, West wrote that the Enforcement Division “will investigate” allegations that Schmerelson “filed false, inadequate or inaccurate statements of economic interests, campaign statements and reports.”
Schmerelson reported between $10,000-$100,000 worth of stock in Altria on LAUSD financial disclosure forms filed in March 2017, 2018 and 2019, as well as a form submitted to Los Angeles City Ethics Commission in November 2019, which appears to have been signed in 2018.
It’s impossible to tell when he first bought stock in Altria, though, because his 2017 form does not list a precise purchase date. That means he either failed to disclose the date he first bought the stock while in office, or he owned it in prior years and failed to disclose it at all.
“Those are the two possibilities,” former FPPC general counsel Bob Stern told Speak UP. “If he didn’t report it in the first couple of years, that’s more serious.”
Schmerelson has not responded to multiple emails asking about his investments in Altria, but in a live Facebook Q&A session, Schmerelson blamed the stock buys on his stockbroker and said he didn’t realize he owned stock in the tobacco company until recently, despite reporting it for three straight years and purchasing additional shares while in office. He also said that he has sold the JUUL stock, although there’s no way to verify that, and his next financial disclosure form is not due until April.
Schmerelson over the weekend selectively shared on his website the FPPC’s decision to dismiss one complaint while failing to disclose that the FPPC Enforcement Division opened a case Friday to investigate a separate complaint.
Suzy Hughes, a registered nurse and parent of two kids ages 10 and 13 who attend LAUSD schools, described Schmerelson’s behavior as “disappointing.”
“I think elected officials should hold themselves to a higher standard in terms of knowing where their money is being invested, and JUUL in particular, that’s a no brainer,” Hughes said. “Tobacco companies have a history of insidious marketing to kids. As a parent I know that kids are vulnerable.”
