Hawthorne Mayor Danny Juarez Charged with Four Additional Counts of Perjury

Hawthorne Mayor Danny Juarez faces more charges.

Hawthorne Mayor Daniel “Danny” Juarez, who was indicted last year on perjury charges, has been charged with four additional counts of perjury for allegedly depositing nearly $25,000 in cash in his personal bank accounts and failing to disclose the source, the District Attorney’s Office announced today.

Juarez, 60, is expected to surrender today at Los Angeles Superior Court, Airport Branch, in Department 144, for arraignment, said Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman, assistant head deputy of the Public Integrity Division. Juarez was charged Monday in case SA084350.

Between March 2009 and March 2012, Juarez allegedly accepted money from individuals and businesses, including Gold’s Gym and the Islamic Center of Hawthorne, telling them it was for his campaign or to pay off campaign debts. Prosecutors allege the money instead was deposited into his personal accounts and was not reported on forms he signed under penalty of perjury.

The complaint alleges that in one instance, Juarez received $2,500 from AYSO that he falsely
claimed to have donated to the Officer Andrew Garton Memorial Fund. Huntsman said the new charges stem from further investigation following his Oct. 17, 2013, indictment on two counts of perjury. Juarez has pleaded not guilty to asking for and receiving $2,000 in cash from a business to pay off campaign debts that he allegedly failed to report on campaign forms. His next court date in that case, BA396286, is Sept. 6 for a pretrial conference at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Department 130.