Recall candidate John Cox interrupted at debate with court order to pay ad agency $100,000
A private investigator interrupted California Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox at a public debate Tuesday night and dropped off a February 2020 court order directing Cox to pay nearly $100,000 in fees to an agency that worked on his previous run for governor.
The agent, Aman Choudhry from Choudhry Investigative Services shouted over Cox as he began to introduce himself to the audience at the Guild Theater in Sacramento, saying the candidate “had been served.”
The papers indicate Cox owes the thousands of dollars, plus a 6% interest rate, to Sandler-Innocenzi, a Virginia-based consulting firm that worked on his 2018 campaign for California governor.
Jim Innocenzi said he was a senior consultant for Cox in 2018 and helped coordinate filming for a television commercial toward the end of the campaign. The price tag added up to $55,000, and Innocenzi said he paid the California-based production crew under the assumption that Cox’s campaign would reimburse his firm.
Instead, Innocenzi said Cox refused to pay the firm and “cut himself a check.”
“What kind of guy stiffs hardworking families who he said he is going to help and then puts the campaign cash in his own pocket?” Innocenzi said.
The Cox campaign did not respond to a request from The Sacramento Bee, but a spokesman for Cox’s campaign earlier this year told the Los Angeles Times that Cox contested the amount owed.
Cox, a wealthy businessman, has poured millions of his own money into his campaign.
“These disputes happen in politics, campaigns and business. Hopefully they can get it resolved,” said Tim Rosales, Cox’s 2018 campaign manager.
The firm has tried to serve Cox the court order four different times, Innocenzi said.
“This man has no regard for the rule of law and he wants to be governor? That’s a joke,” Innocenzi said, adding that the original bill could soon amount to around $150,000 when factoring in legal costs. “He could have paid me in December of 2018 and I’d go away. This is crazy.”
Innocenzi said that if Cox continues dodging their request, “we will request a bench warrant for his arrest.”
“It’s my understanding that judges don’t take kindly to people who ignore their orders,” he said.
Choudhry said the firm decided to come to the debate because it was the “best place” to serve the documents.
“Mr. Cox has been avoiding service and is ordered to appear in San Diego Superior Court regarding this case,” Choudhry told The Sacramento Bee. “He’s been ducking and dodging courts and not showing up. He thinks he’s above the law.”
Cox lost to Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2018 race and is among the top GOP contenders vying for the chance to take over the executive suite. He participated in the debate with former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Assembly Kevin Kiley, both Republicans who are also competing in the recall election.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Recall candidate John Cox interrupted at debate with court order to pay ad agency $100,000."