Chriss Street is Orange County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector. He’s the person responsible for collecting the property tax bills for Irvine, and the rest of Orange County. Mr. Street is up for re-election this June, and he’ll likely face a tough fight. On Friday, he was ordered to pay $7,068,765 for breaching his fiduciary duty in liquidating a trust.
Judge Richard M. Neiter of the US Bankruptcy Court said, “The overwhelming evidence at trial showed that the Defendant willfully engaged in self-dealing to advance his personal interest ahead of that of the Trust’s beneficiaries.” The Orange County Register reports that Mr. Street also used the trust to pay personal expenses including a dinner at Spago, Botox treatments, and paying a traffic ticket.
Mr. Street’s attorney refused to comment on the case until he could study the verdict.
