La Mota cofounders say they gave money orders to rep. candidate Val Hoyle in 2022

Sworn declarations of Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares say the cannabis couple communicated with Hoyle's office about federal agency filings as recently as September 2023

Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, co-founders of the scandalized OR cannabis business La Mota, say they gave money orders to now-Rep. Val Hoyle, communicated regarding federal agency filings

The Federal Election Commission voted July 3 to dismiss my complaint against Congresswoman Val Hoyle’s (D-OR) campaign for accepting and retaining what appeared to me likely cash contributions exceeding the federal maximum for such contributions from Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, the co-founders of scandalized Oregon cannabis company La Mota.

The FEC dismissed the complaint pursuant to its authority to prioritize enforcement action based on factors including the dollar figure in controversy.

Hoyle reported receiving a total of $5,800 in seven separate contributions from Mitchell and Cazares on the same day, April 30, 2022. Then, Hoyle was running in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, while serving as Commissioner of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). Oregon media reports showed that during the 2022 election cycle, La Mota, Mitchell and Cazares often made contributions to Oregon democrats in cash.

I based my complaint on the confirmed reports of La Mota et al. having made cash contributions to other Oregon candidates in 2022, the unusual practice of receiving seven separate contributions in one day from two closely affiliated individuals, and my noticing that Hoyle’s spokesperson clammed up once I asked her whether the contributions were made in cash.

Hoyle’s attorneys and an attorney representing both Mitchell and Cazares filed responses to my complaint with the FEC. Both responses provided copies of seven money orders, dated April 22, 2022, in the names of Mitchell and Cazares to Hoyle’s campaign, and alleged those were the subject contributions. While federal campaign finance laws limit cash contributions to the amount of $100, there is no such limit on contributions by money order.

Mitchell and Cazares’ response, which describes this here august publication an “online right-wing newsletter,” includes sworn declarations by each of the La Mota cofounders. In the declarations, Mitchell and Cazares attest that their shared lawyer recently received the money order copies “from the office of Congresswoman Val Hoyle.”

Mitchell and Cazares’ lawyer Ronald Hoevet filed the couple’s response on September 12, 2023. Hoyle’s attorney filed her response, which also attached the money order copies, three days later. In other words, before filing their respective responses, Mitchell and Cazares communicated with Hoyle’s office, at least for the purpose of obtaining the money orders. This fact may be of interest to the federal investigators who are reportedly probing the relationship between the La Mota team and Hoyle.

The declarations provide the two are not married, and are raising their daughter together. The FEC sent notices to Mitchell at a redacted address in Portland and to Cazares at a redacted address in Shady Cove in southern Oregon.

Hoevet’s response provides that he represents not only Cazares and Mitchell but also a third party that is redacted in the version released by the FEC.

Hoyle was only one subject of Mitchell and Cazares’ brazen scheme to dramatically shift the course of Oregon cannabis policy. La Mota and its cofounders gave generously to Oregon Democrats between 2020 and 2022, including $68,000 to then-candidate Tina Kotek and $45,000 to Shemia Fagan, who won her Secretary of State’s race in 2020 and promptly directed auditors looking into Oregon’s cannabis regulations to consult with Cazares, who was critical of the state’s regulation of her business. Cazares offered edits to the audit, the final version of which incorporated some of her concerns.

On March 29, 2023, Willamette Week published investigative reporter Sophie Peel’s story about Cazares, Mitchell and La Mota’s contributions to Oregon democrats, including Fagan, while the company and couple had failed to pay state taxes. The ensuing coverage detailed Fagan’s audit shenanigans and ultimately the fatal fact that she was working as a consultant for La Mota, a gig that paid her more than her state salary. Fagan resigned effective May 8.

Back in August 2022, meanwhile, Hoyle was cruising to a relatively comfortable general election victory in the 4th District when she pushed through BOLI’s reluctant apprenticeship board a $554,000 grant to ENDVR, a nonprofit co-founded by Cazares for the apparent purpose of receiving the grant, using federal funds that could not legally be used for cannabis industry programs. More reporting by Peel showed Hoyle’s staff was aware the U.S. Department of Labor would likely raise concerns about a grant explicitly mentioning cannabis.

Hoyle’s staff’s solution was to simply avoid mentioning to the Department of Labor the fact the grant was to a nonprofit founded for the purpose of training workers working in the cannabis industry exclusively, according to emails obtained by Peel.

When the La Mota scandal broke in 2023, Hoyle was representing southwest Oregon in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her successor as BOLI Commissioner, and fellow La Mota contribution recipient, Christina Stephenson revoked the illegal ENDVR grant, less the $97,000 the company had already spent.

Since the top federal prosecutor in Oregon issued the subpoena to BOLI for records related to the grant and Cazares and Mitchell and Hoyle, there has been no further public disclosure about the investigation.

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