The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office seized dozens of records relating to Huntington Park city contractors with ties to consultant Efren Martinez as part of an investigation into alleged corruption at City Hall, according to a copy of the search warrant released by the city.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Dirty Pond” by prosecutors, reportedly is focused on the potential misuse of millions of dollars in public funds allocated for an aquatics center at Salt Lake Park in Huntington Park, but a list of seized materials suggests the scope is larger and revolves around Martinez specifically.

In a letter, Senior Investigator Matthew Dillier told city officials prosecutors are looking into alleged bribery, misappropriation of public funds, conflict of interest, money laundering and conspiracy. An inventory of the property taken by the investigators lists the case name as “Efren Martinez.”

Martinez, who ran unsuccessfully for the state Assembly in 2020 and 2024, did not return a request for comment.

The D.A.’s Bureau of Investigation raided a total of 11 locations on the same day as City Hall, including the city’s public works’ building, Salt Lake Park, the homes of the owners of JT Construction Group, the home of Martinez and the offices of his consulting company, as well as the homes of City Manager Ricardo Reyes, former Councilmembers Graciela Ortiz and Marilyn Sanabria, and current Councilmembers Karina Macias and Eddie Martinez.

Macias denied any wrongdoing during a Feb. 28 council meeting and claimed the aquatics center “will soon be a reality.” She did not respond to a call for comment.

The aquatics center project, approved years ago but never built, called for a 30,000-square-foot, two-story, state-of-the-art facility with an Olympic-size pool.

Nearly all of the files and documents taken from City Hall were for city contractors that had hired Martinez’s consulting company, United Consulting Services.

One of the locations raided, the public works facility on Bissell Street, also is the home of Express Transportation Services, the contractor that operates the city’s shuttle and dial-a-ride services. Martinez listed himself as an owner of Express Transportation on his financial disclosures in 2023 and was listed as a manager on business filings with the Secretary of State’s Office until this year, when his name was removed following the raids.

Records show that D.A. investigators seized 42 documents related to JT Construction, the company hired to build the aquatics center; and eight documents involving All Done Management Group, one of three cannabis businesses permitted to operate in the city. Other seized documents involved LAN WAN Enterprise, a company providing IT services to the city; and Express Transportation, records showed.

Martinez listed all of those companies as clients during his run for office in 2020.

That same year, a lawsuit filed by former Huntington Park employees accused the city of going on a “spending spree” that included entering into a “no-bid contract to build an unnecessary public pool that will cost a staggering $40,000,000.” The lawsuit alleges city officials colluded with Martinez to use the “coffers of Huntington Park as their own personal piggy bank.”

It is not typical for a city to publish a search warrant executed at its own City Hall, but city officials said in a statement they did so in a “continued effort to promote transparency and public accountability.”

“As noted in the City Attorney’s agenda report, on February 26, 2025, the District Attorney’s Office executed multiple search warrants, including at City Hall, as part of its investigation into the City’s expenditure of more than $14 million on a project that was not completed,” the statement reads. “The investigation, officially named Efren Martinez, involves decisions made by past and present city officials related to the approval and management of the project.”

The warrant and the inventory of items seized were included in a City Council agenda package last week “to acknowledge the existence of the investigation and provide factual, court-issued material for the public record,” according to the statement.

“Its inclusion does not imply wrongdoing by any individual or entity but serves to ensure residents are fully informed about developments impacting City affairs,” the statement continues.

The District Attorney’s Office confirmed the document is a receipt provided to the subject of the search and is not part of the sealed record in the case.

“At this time, no further search warrants have been served and no arrests have been made, however, the investigation is ongoing,” a spokesperson said.

At its May 19 meeting, the Huntington Park City Council authorized the reimbursements of legal fees up to $30,000 per person for former Councilmembers Ortiz and Sanabria. The council agreed to pay a similar amount for Councilmembers Macias and Martinez and City Manager Reyes at its meeting two weeks earlier.

The reimbursements reflect the city’s “commitment to due process and equal treatment for all individuals named in the investigation,” the city’s statement said.

If any of the individuals are later convicted, they will be required to repay the city for all expenses, according to a staff report.