Federal court records show her husband stole from a public utility to fly her to the Kentucky Derby. FEC records show she spent over $795,000 in special interest money on travel and luxury hotels. She violated the insider trading law she co-sponsored. And she ran the Ethics Committee while all of it was happening.
Linda Sánchez's husband, James M. Sullivan, was indicted in 2018 on federal fraud and conspiracy charges for embezzling funds from the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) — a public utility company — where he served as chairman of the board.
Court records show Sullivan and co-defendants misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in public utility funds for personal vacations and lavish personal expenses. In May 2023, Sullivan was sentenced to six months in federal prison and ordered to pay $187,200.16 in restitution to the utility. Total restitution ordered across all defendants: $748,800.63.
Federal court documents show that between 2013 and 2014, Linda Sánchez personally benefited from $29,350.97 in stolen public funds through her husband's fraudulent activity. Those funds paid for two Kentucky Derby trips and a Key West vacation.
| Date Authorized | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 05/05/2013 | 2013 Kentucky Derby trip — Sullivan and Sanchez | $12,498.28 |
| 05/15/2013 | Flight, John Wayne Airport to Louisville Int'l for Sanchez | $535.80 |
| 05/15/2013 | Flight, Louisville Int'l to Ronald Reagan Int'l for Sanchez | $478.90 |
| 03/03/2014 | Roundtrip flight, Reagan Int'l to Louisville for Sanchez | $760.00 |
| 05/04/2014 | 2014 Kentucky Derby trip — Sullivan and Sanchez | $14,390.76 |
| 05/19/2014 | 2014 Kentucky Derby — baggage, taxis, meals (Sullivan & Sanchez) | $277.03 |
| 12/13/2014 | Roundtrip flight, Reagan Int'l to Key West for Sanchez | $410.20 |
| Total Stolen Funds Benefiting Sanchez | $29,350.97 | |
Source: Public Access to Court Electronic Records, "USA v. Sullivan," Case No. 3:18-cr-00273-VDO
FEC records show Sánchez has treated her campaign account like a personal expense account for more than two decades — luxury hotels, car leases, limousines, Vegas trips, and Disneyland. All billed to special interests.
Total spent on travel and lodging from her campaign account since 2003 — an average of $26,283 per year, every year she has been in office.
Sánchez used campaign funds to pay for a personal car lease, billing special interests for her vehicle.
Despite having special interests pay for her car, Sánchez also heavily billed her campaign for limousines and chauffeur services.
Between 2017 and 2022, Sánchez billed her campaign $2,247.70 for expenses related to Disneyland, including three hotel stays at Disneyland Resort properties and parking fees.
Special interests paid for stays at the Aria, Mandalay Bay, and Wynn — including $875 at the Aria's Alibi Bar cocktail lounge and a $409 dinner at an upscale French restaurant.
FEC records show $56,390 in campaign spending at private country clubs between 2006 and 2016.
At luxury hotels — all within an hour of her own house. Linda Sánchez owns a home in Whittier, California. Yet FEC records show she charged her campaign $83,880.74 at 16 Los Angeles-area luxury hotels, every single one within an hour's drive of her front door.
The question is straightforward: why is a congresswoman billing special interests to stay in luxury hotels less than an hour from her own home?
| Hotel | Distance from Home | Total Charged |
|---|---|---|
| Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica | 52 min w/traffic | $27,213.17 |
| Conrad Los Angeles | 35 min w/traffic | $11,520.43 |
| Santa Monica Proper Hotel | 50 min w/traffic | $9,504.18 |
| NoMad LA Hotel | 32 min w/traffic | $10,401.65 |
| Hotel Shangri-La, Santa Monica | 53 min w/traffic | $5,076.42 |
| JW Marriott LA Live | 33 min w/traffic | $2,896.32 |
| Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel | 51 min w/traffic | $1,498.70 |
| Casa Del Mar Hotel, Santa Monica | 54 min w/traffic | $3,519.74 |
| Hotel Figueroa / Hotel Beverly / Others | 30–47 min | $12,250.13 |
| Total — All Within One Hour of Her Home | $83,880.74 | |
Source: Federal Election Commission, Committee Expenditure Detail, "Stand With Sanchez"
$22,024 billed to special interests for Las Vegas trips. $5,717 more for foreign travel — including a five-star hotel in London and a golf resort in Ensenada, Mexico.
FEC records show Sánchez spent $22,024.80 in campaign funds in Las Vegas across multiple trips, staying at the Aria, the Wynn, and Mandalay Bay. Notable charges: $875.10 across two visits to the Aria's Alibi Bar cocktail lounge and a $409.52 dinner at Aria Bardot Brasserie — an upscale French restaurant operated by celebrity chef Michael Mina.
Between 2021 and 2025, Sánchez billed special interests $5,717.93 for foreign travel to Mexico and the United Kingdom — including stays at a five-star hotel in London and a visit to a golf resort in Ensenada, Mexico. The charges include a $3,503.85 British Airways flight in May 2025 — a single airfare purchase billed to special interests.
| Spending Category | Period | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Total travel & hotel expenses (campaign funds) | 2003–2025 | $604,526.70 |
| Hotels within one hour of her Whittier home | 2008–2025 | $83,880.74 |
| Car lease, insurance, maintenance (campaign funds) | 2015–2025 | $87,729.62 |
| Luxury chauffeur services & limousines | 2011–2025 | $15,248.49 |
| Las Vegas hotels, dining & events | 2007–2022 | $22,024.80 |
| Country club events (private clubs) | 2006–2016 | $56,390.08 |
| Foreign travel (Mexico, UK) | 2021–2025 | $5,717.93 |
| Stolen public funds she personally benefited from | 2013–2014 | $29,350.97 |
Source: Federal Election Commission Committee Expenditure Detail, "Stand With Sanchez"; U.S. District Court, "USA v. Sullivan," Case Nos. 3:18-cr-00273-VDO and 3:18-cr-00272-JAM
Rep. Sánchez sold up to $15,000 in Cisco Systems stock — a company that holds billions in government contracts that Linda Sánchez voted to fund — all while she owned their stock. And she didn't disclose the trade until she blew past the legal deadline. That's a federal STOCK Act violation.
The maximum value of Cisco Systems stock Sánchez sold without timely disclosure. Cisco holds billions in government contracts — contracts Sánchez voted to fund — all while she owned their stock. Under the STOCK Act, members of Congress must disclose stock transactions within 45 days. She didn't.
Cisco holds billions in government contracts — contracts Linda Sánchez voted to fund — all while she owned their stock. That's not an oversight. That's an obvious conflict of interest and a textbook abuse of her position.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act was designed to stop exactly this. Sánchez blew past the 45-day disclosure window — and her late filing landed just as the House Administration Committee was set to consider new insider trading restrictions she publicly co-sponsored.
The penalty for violating the STOCK Act is $200. No member of Congress has ever been prosecuted. That's not a deterrent — that's a cover charge for insider trading.
The California congresswoman became the latest federal lawmaker to violate the existing STOCK Act by failing to report a stock trade within the law's 45-day disclosure window. The late trade involves up to $15,000 worth of stock in communications technology company Cisco Systems, which holds numerous federal government contracts.
A former top aide filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was fired in retaliation for reporting Sánchez's use of taxpayer money for campaign activities — and that Sánchez then pressured employers not to hire her.
According to the lawsuit, Sánchez used official congressional staff and taxpayer-funded resources for campaign fundraising — a clear violation of federal law and House ethics rules. When aide Kara Medrano raised the alarm, Sánchez allegedly ordered campaign-related documents deleted from official computers before an ethics audit.
The kicker: When this lawsuit was filed, Linda Sánchez was the Ranking Member — top Democrat — on the House Ethics Committee, the very body responsible for investigating exactly this kind of misconduct.
While serving as the senior Democrat on the House Ethics Committee — the body charged with investigating misconduct in Congress — Sánchez was herself found to have multiple disclosure failures and was entangled in a payroll scandal involving her sister.
Sánchez failed to disclose a mortgage on her Lakewood home — which she'd owned since 1999 — on required financial disclosure forms. She reported rental income from the property but never disclosed the associated mortgage. Basic disclosure. She skipped it.
Sánchez co-wrote a book with her sister, Rep. Loretta Sánchez, and failed to disclose the royalty income for more than two years on legally required financial disclosure forms. Another "oversight."
Following an embezzlement scandal in her sister's office, Linda Sánchez put three of her sister's staffers on her own congressional payroll — a violation of House rules prohibiting members from using their office budget to pay aides who work in another member's office. Taxpayer money, family problem.
A convicted felon husband. $29,350 in stolen funds she personally benefited from. $795,616 in special interest money spent on luxury travel, hotels, and limos. A Cisco insider trading violation. A federal lawsuit for retaliating against a whistleblower. Unreported income. A family payroll scheme. All while running the Ethics Committee.
James Sullivan: guilty of federal fraud and conspiracy, six months in federal prison, $187,200 in restitution. Linda personally benefited from $29,350 in stolen public utility funds for Kentucky Derby and Key West trips.
$604,526 on travel and hotels. $87,729 on a personal car lease. $22,700 on limos. $83,880 at luxury hotels less than an hour from her own home. Special interests paid for Disneyland. Special interests paid for Vegas.
Sold up to $15,000 in stock in a company with federal contracts. Missed the disclosure deadline. Violated the exact law she was publicly co-sponsoring to strengthen.
Fired a top aide 20 days after she contacted the Ethics Committee. Allegedly deleted evidence before an audit. Allegedly pressured employers not to hire the fired staffer. That's federal retaliation.
Hidden mortgage. Two years of unreported royalties. A family payroll scheme that put a sister's staff on taxpayer-funded congressional payroll. All while sitting at the top of the Ethics Committee.
Voters deserve a representative whose priorities are theirs —
not five-star hotels, chauffeurs, and Las Vegas cocktail bars.
She runs the Ethics Committee.
She IS the ethics problem.