When we last left the San Diego Board of Supervisors’ Nathan Fletcher and his wife, former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (both Democrats), the watchdog group the Transparency Foundation reported on their questionable stock purchases in 2020 of companies that were pivotal to the COVID pandemic response.
This stock trading was executed from March 2020 through June 2020. During that period, as part of the San Diego Board of Supervisors’ COVID-19 subcommittee, Fletcher received daily private briefings from county staff on the progression of the pandemic, raising the question on whether Fletcher had access to information that would help inform his stock trading; information that is not available to the general public. Fletcher, Gonzalez Fletcher, played with the stocks. However, Fletcher, Gonzalez Fletcher also advocated for and enforced policies that kept the California State of Emergency, its lockdowns, COVID restrictions, and unconstitutional California State of Emergency in effect. They insisted on imposing COVID-19 vaccine policies, as well as lying about people who didn’t get the COVID-19 vaccines.
Fletcher was appointed chairman of Board of Supervisors in the wake of stock sale. He announced that San Diego County would no longer be under lockdown.
All of this is all very convenient.
RedState’s Part 1 report reveals that Fletcher, Gonzalez Fletcher purchased a cabin worth $395,000 in Big Bear, following the stock sales.
They put down $79,000 to finance the transaction which was completed on August 25, 2020. The couple paid $79,000 down on the transaction. Public records also show that $316,000 was borrowed from the mortgage documents.
Fletcher had just divorced and was now married to Lorena Gonzalez in 2018. In 2018, he sought to decrease his support and spousal payments.
Superior court records show that Fletcher, his annual income slashed when he was let go as an executive by Qualcomm, sought in October of last year to reduce spousal and child support payments to ex-wife Mindy Tucker Fletcher, once a high-ranking aide to GOP President George W. Bush.
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“On December 7, 2016, Respondent and I entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement that required that I pay each month to Respondent $5,250 in spousal support and $3,000 in child support for a total monthly support obligation of $8,250,” per Fletcher. “I have been paying this amount since January of 2017.”
“At the time that these support obligations were established, I was employed by Qualcomm, Incorporated and University of California, San Diego. At that point, I informed Respondent that Qualcomm planned to terminate my employment and reduce my income significantly. Her response was that she expected to find paid employment shortly. On March 31, 2017, my position with Qualcomm, Inc. was eliminated,”
Per his statement, Fletcher’s current service as a so-called professor of practice at UCSD, which ex-dean of social sciences Jeffrey Elman once considered funding with contributions from billionaire Qualcomm founder and Fletcher political backer Irwin Jacobs, is only modestly compensated.
“I concede that I have the capacity to earn more than my current monthly pay of $2,095.33 from the University of California, San Diego,” the statement says.
This was in early 2018, Nathan Fletcher was pleading that he could not pay his alimony or child support. Fletcher won election to Board of Supervisors by November 2018 and was now earning $193,470.61 an year. Fletcher gave up the low salary of UCSD professorship to take the Board of Supervisors post. He also gained more influence by holding board of directors positions at the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) and Southern California Tobacco Securitization Authority (TSA). Gonzalez Fletcher, who was still Assemblywoman in District 80 of Chula Vista in 2020, earned $109,403.07 annually.
They purchased their City Heights house in April 2019 for $580,000. With zero down they then refinanced the home in December for $7,650 more than what was paid in April. With little equity in their primary home (not to mention a mortgage to the core), it is difficult to get a $79,000 downpayment and the approval for a $315,000 loan. The couple was in a different financial situation. Did Fletcher’s political sugar daddy Irwin Jacobs front the money? Gonzalez Fletcher might have been a Labor puppeteer and received kickbacks for double-agent work. Public officials with taxpayer-funded salaries are awash in cash conveniently placed at the right times.
Some site visitors see some questionable stock purchase and the super-convenient home for vacation as nothing. Many argue that even in a crisis, The Fletchers still have the right to trade stocks and make sound investment decisions. The Fletchers also have the right to buy a vacation house and there are no red flags or out-of-place luxury.
These are all points that should be noted. But it’s not their purchases as such that raise ethical questions, but the selections of stocks and the timing for the Big Bear home purchase.
Transparency Foundation has reported that Fletcher blocks the release his records as required by the California Public Records Act. Another question is: Why block information the public can access that you don’t have to share?
All Americans, even politicians, are allowed to purchase these items. But, their constituents have every right question the moral implications of purchasing such goods, whether they involve corruption or malfeasance.
The problem is that Nathan Fletcher clearly has a conflict of interest. He profited from Covid-19 stock while also taking more radical policy positions regarding Covid-19. The result is a loss of public trust and confidence in Nathan Fletcher regarding his handling of Covid-19 — and public decision makers writ large.
Matt Stockton is the Treasurer at the Transparency Foundation. He says that the Conflict Watch findings raise serious conflicts of interest concerns and need to be addressed.
“Stock trades like these can Trust and confidence in the public are being undermined in their elected officials and Supervisor Nathan Fletcher at least has a lot of explaining to do,” said Stockton.
It was a long time ago that the good ship public trust set sail. A civil rights suit was brought against San Diego County Board of Supervisors in October 2021 over COVID restrictions. The restrictions were inflated and they are still being enforced. This shows that there is no trace of any COVID restrictions left.
There is no way to know if the Fletchers are just innocent babes living in the woods or whether they were trying to gain wealth.
CVS Health, Zoom, and Zoom were two of seven stocks that directly impacted Californians lives. Fletcher and Gonzalez Fletcher made the biggest profits from these stocks.
Transparency Foundation provides an analysis of the CVS Health acquisition.
Fletcher purchased this stock for $56.80 on 3/19/202020. This stock was purchased by Fletcher on 3/19/2020 for $56.80. 53% profit.
According to Open Secrets in 2020 CVS Healthcare, which is affiliated with Aetna/CareMark, PAC contributed more than $3 million to the federal election. Follow the Money also shows contributions to statewide elections including California. CVS CareMark has already contributed $31,000 to Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022 re-election campaign.
They haven’t appeared to be overly partisan in their leanings; the corporation PAC and its employees have given to Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated parties. CVS paid $6.5 million to lobbyists in 2018 and also contributed significantly to campaign committees. These are the people responsible for creating the candidates and funding their campaigns.
This is important. As elected officials, if you are going to choose stocks to purchase, then it might be a consideration to steer clear of a stock that isn’t a lightning rod or stuffed full of political baggage. Gonzalez Fletcher, Fletcher, and Gonzalez Fletcher don’t seem to have any such concerns.
Then there is CVS’ role in the pandemic response. In 2014, CVS bought Aetna (a company that provides health insurance) from the United States. In 2019, CVS updated its model from pharmacies to “HealthHubs” moving their MinuteClinic format, where customers could pick up their prescriptions and check their blood pressure and heart rate, to actual in-person treatment of minor illnesses or non-emergency concerns. CVS is well-positioned for COVID testing and vaccine distribution, with thousands of HealthHubs located throughout California.
In the purchase of the stock, Fletcher and Gonzalez Fletcher were perfectly positioned to profit from CVS Health’s expansion.
According to Transparency Foundation reports, Fletcher and Gonzalez Fletcher benefited the most from Zoom stock.
Fletcher purchased the stock for $113.63 in 4/6/2020. For $223.87, this stock was sold on the 6th of February 2020. 97% profit.
Zoom doesn’t require great explanation. The entire California Teachers Unions used Zoom to do their “distance learning,” and every politician has used the excuse of COVID to employ Zoom as the gatekeeper between their constituents and themselves. So Governor Newsom used his emergency power to stop the Brown Act from being implemented. Most of the elected classes, which includes Nathan Fletcher have created the rules of engagement and exempted themselves from the same rules.
This has been the case for both the California elect class as a whole and the two California legislators in particular.
“Unbreakable” 🤣
More like “Unreachable” 🤦♂️
(@nathanfletcher & his wife @LorenaSGonzalez’s new tattoo)Cringe 🥴#FedUpWithFletcher pic.twitter.com/SjM9HEKA2Q
— Fed Up With Fletcher (@FedUpWFletcher) March 8, 2022
Nathan Fletcher and Lorena Gonzalez Photographed Maskless at Garth Brooks Concert https://t.co/pSm6cbim6H
— RM (@WaTxCa) March 10, 2022
Stockton stated that the Conflict Watch Investigation into Fletcher is just one example of a larger national problem. The public should be asking whether politicians or government officials have benefited from Covid-19 policies.
An even bigger problem that RedState uncovered, is Fletcher’s relationship with the troubled Molina Healthcare Inc. headquartered out of Long Beach. CVS Healthcare has reached the legal limit for financial contributions to California, and California’s politicians. Molina Healthcare came next.
Molina Healthcare is facing two whistleblower claims for Medicare fraud. A lawsuit that Thomas Prose filed under the False Claims Act in 2017 was allowed to proceed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021. Prose, who was a contractor for Molina in the past, founded GenMed and claims that Molina charged Medicare even though no services were actually provided.
The lawsuit claims that the contract required Molina to care for residents of nursing facilities by medical specialists who are trained in such care. This type of care is called skilled nursing facility (or SNF) care and its providers are known under Illinois law as SNFists.
Prose asserted that Molina contracted GenMed between 2014 and early 2015 to offer SNF care to patients at the top of its tier, as it was unable to do so. Molina, despite having ended the contract with GenMed for SNF care, continued to receive Medicaid payments at the highest rate possible from nursing home patients even after termination.
Prose said that Molina falsely induce the government into renewing its contract with it in 2016/17 by misrepresenting the fact that it would offer the SNF service.
Another lawsuit filed in 2018, and unsealed in 2020 alleges that Molina fraudulently charged for children’s health services.
So it is of interest that Fletcher’s Form 803 Behested Payment Report mentions Molina Healthcare Inc. along with political consultant firm Forbes Tate Partners, receiving an $111,000 behested payment for sponsorship and execution of a PSA campaign.
There was once a reasonable amount of videography and production services available, most of which were located in San Diego County. Thanks to Gonzalez Fletcher’s AB5 law, that pretty much decimated this industry. Even with all that, it is still California and Hollywood is only 117 miles from San Diego. In what universe would a PSA run this much? Forbes Tate Partners charged a consulting fee to put this together. Doesn’t Fletcher have staff in San Diego County who can do the same thing?
Further, what does this say about Nathan Fletcher’s priorities for the people of San Diego County whom he claims to serve? It is not their goal to save lives or their money. If this were the case, the group “Fed Up With Fletcher” would not exist to challenge Fletcher’s record and ensure he is not re-elected.
To defeat me, right-wing and anti-vax activists launched a PAC.
If you think this is nuts RT and toss me a few bucks to fight back:https://t.co/SPXVqQoIZV https://t.co/eWzq3WJwET
— Nathan Fletcher (@nathanfletcher) September 24, 2021
Lorena Gonzalez, Mrs. Nathan Fletcher and Lorena Gonzalez fail to grasp the meaning of section 1 of the First Amendment, where citizens may petition the government for a remedy of grievances. Since Nathan Fletcher as a representative of California’s government has done all he can to restrict the peaceable assembly part, citizens have every right to monitor his public social media accounts and compare his public stances with his private behavior:
Nathan Fletcher hopes to be elected District 4 Supervisor for a second time. Fletcher hopes that he can use his experience to run for the Democrat Central Committee 2024. If he is successful in either, he will have more money and the power to select candidates and establish political policies.
Nathan Fletcher believes that political offices serve a purpose and are not a genuine attempt to serve or do good. Amy Reichert is his challenger on the Board of Supervisors seat.
It is also known as State-licensed investigator, I began to You can watch each San Diego County Press Conference as well as every San Diego County Board of Supervisor meeting. It was clear that the one person responsible for weaponizing the San Diego Sheriff’s department to arrest business owners was none other than San Diego Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
As Nathan Fletcher refused to help small businesses and parents calling the Board of Supervisors asking for assistance, we watched. He instead played on his phone, tweeting vile language that demonizes parents and his constituents.
Nathan Fletcher didn’t agree with people were called Nazis. As someone who was raised Jewish, I found Nathan Fletcher’s flippant use of the word Nazi appalling.
The Board of Supervisors kept the people away from their elected officials for thirteen months. I led and organized a “Let Us In” rally so elected officials could hear the cries and see the tears of the people who were hurting from prolonged lockdowns.
We deserveAnyone who can. Truly, it isThe people of San Diego
If you follow Fletcher’s and Gonzalez Fletcher’s social media feeds, any opposition to the agendas Fletcher champions is painted as either anti-vaxxer, right-wing, Nazi, or white supremacist. This masquerades to be reasonable dialog with the purported man-of-the people.
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher made the decision to avoid any accountability regarding her embarrassing public records. She resigned from the California Assembly, and returned to Labor. It is clear that Fletcher does not want to be accountable to the people of San Diego County, but he’ll do all he can to try and convince you this is not the case.
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