Sacramento County candidate Cofer faces complaint alleging false income statement
A citizen whose lawsuit blocked a Sacramento County Board of Supervisors candidate from calling herself a doctor on the ballot has now filed a complaint with a state agency.
The complaint, filed April 25 by resident Richard Dwyer to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, alleges Flojaune Cofer underreported her income on a state form or submitted a false sworn statement in court.
“This complaint alleges that Ms. Cofer filed a materially false and incomplete Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) as a candidate for that office, in direct and irreconcilable contradiction to sworn statements she made under penalty of perjury in concurrent civil litigation before the Sacramento County Superior Court,” the complaint, first reported by Abridged, stated.
On her Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests, which she submitted March 5, Cofer checked a box indicating she had no income or economic interests that met thresholds required to be disclosed on the form. She told The Sacramento Bee in March she is self-employed, which includes paid speaking, teaching training and policy-related activities.
On March 25, during a hearing for the ballot designation lawsuit, Cofer submitted a sworn statement that she earned income, the FPPC complaint said. The income included paid speaking engagements, guest lectures, expert witness work, and government consulting.
The complaint alleges a false sworn statement, and includes a similar allegation for Cofer’s 2024 mayoral run, which she lost narrowly to Mayor Kevin McCarty.
Cofer on Tuesday said the complaint was “political theater.”
“Form 700 disclosures are governed by specific legal standards about conflicts of interest — they are not a list of every dollar a person has ever received. Not only do they falsely claim all income was reportable, the complaint also falsely claims I was paid for work I was not paid for, misrepresents income that occurred after the filing period, and distorts the court record. These attacks from the same special interests and dark money networks backing my opponent reflect how threatened they are by a genuinely independent, people-powered campaign they cannot control.”
The FPPC said in a follow-up letter dated Friday it is going to investigate.
“You will next receive notification from us upon final disposition of the case,” the letter stated. “However, please be advised that at this time we have not made any determination about the validity of the allegation(s) you have made or about the culpability, if any, of the person(s) you identify in your complaint.”
The firm Bell, McAndrews and Hiltachk submitted the complaint on April 25 on behalf of Dwyer. It was the same firm Dwyer used for his civil lawsuit to remove “doctor” from appearing under Cofer’s name on the ballot. The judge in that case, during a hearing where Dwyer was absent, ruled Cofer had to replace “doctor” with “Epidemiologist, Public Health.”
Cofer is running against Eric Guerra, longtime Sacramento City Council member, who is more moderate than Cofer, for the seat. Guerra’s spokesperson has said Guerra does not know Dwyer.
An attorney for the firm did not immediately answer a question of who is paying his legal fees.
If it determines a complaint to be valid, the FPPC can issue fines, as it did with former Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee.
It’s unclear whether the FPPC will finish its investigation ahead of the June 2 primary.
This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 11:03 AM.
