The Times identified at least 26 fairs statewide where, in the last decade, employees or appointed officials have been accused of siphoning taxpayer money, pressuring businesses for bribes or committing egregious mismanagement. Here is a rundown, with fairs shown in alphabetical order.
Contra Costa County Fair
Nearly $90,000 in cash was reportedly stolen from a fair employee in 2024 as they were trying to deposit it at an ATM around 2 a.m. The president of the fair’s board later questioned why anyone would deposit money in a remote place at such an hour. The president was then removed from his post by the governor’s office for speaking publicly about “an active investigation.” A 2025 audit also found that fair officials were not reviewing employees’ use of credit cards, which included a $545 for a “tune up” for a personal vehicle.
Del Norte County Fair
A 2019 state audit found that fair officials improperly spent more than $1,200 on alcohol in violation of state rules, overspent on hotels and allowed a manager to employ a close family member. A 2025 state audit found additional violations of the state’s nepotism policy, along with $34,000in credit card charges without receipts, including $11,000 spent on food without a clear business purpose.
Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fair
A 2023 state audit found numerous violations of state rules, along with more than $60,000in “unsupported” credit card charges.
El Dorado County Fair
According to a 2019 El Dorado County grand jury report, the county was paying rent to a nonprofit to use property that was in fact owned by the county.
Big Fresno Fair
A 2022 state audit found that employees used state gas to commute to and from work. The audit also found that the fair required vendors to pay an affiliated foundation, which then delivered tens of thousands of dollars in gift cards to fair employees.
Humboldt County Fair
The fair’s former bookkeeper pleaded guilty last year to charges that she embezzled more than $400,000 from the fair.
Kern County Fair
The fair’s former maintenance supervisor is facing criminal charges for allegedly stealing scrap metal. Separately, a state audit found that the fair’s chief executive and board members enjoyed lavish lobster dinners using state credit cards.
Kings Fair
A 2023 state audit found nepotism in hiring and sloppy accountingof credit card purchases and state fuel.
Lake County Fair
A 2024 audit found that fair officials spent more than $4,000 on food and beverages in 2022 and 2023 without documenting a clear business purpose.
Los Angeles County Fair
A 2016 state audit found the fair had paid its president more than $1 million in salary. The audit also found the fair was allowing dangerous housing conditions to persist at an RV park on fair grounds.
Merced County Fair
The fair did not keep track of unleaded fuel, did not collect thousands of dollars it was owed from a fair foundation and handed out tens of thousands of dollars in contracts without competitive bidding or in some cases without a written agreement, according to a 2023 audit.
Monterey County Fair
A 2025 audit found numerous issues, including $87,000 in credit card charges for which there were no receipts, along with purchases that auditors considered improper, including $4,320 for “personal items,” $3,588 for gift cards and $25,000 on food and beverages without proper documentation. The fair also allowed employees to live rent-free on the fairgrounds. In response, fair officials said they would “attempt to collect repayment” for improper purchases.
Mother Lode Fair
A 2024 audit found that officials did not have receipts for $4,000 spent on state credit cards, along with a violation of state nepotism rules.
Napa Valley Town and Country Fair
A 2024 audit found fair officials spent $14,000 on their credit cards without receipts, along with $27,000 on foodwithout providing a clear business purpose.
Orange County Fair
A 2019 state audit found that fair officials did not properly report it when an employee embezzled $9,000 and also that fair officials spent more than $200,000 on food and beverages in 2018 without keeping track of whom the meals were for or what purpose they served.
San Diego County Fair
In 2024, the fair paid $500,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing fair officials of rigging a bid for a multimillion-dollar carnival contract.
San Joaquin County Fair
A 2019 state audit found that the fair could not account for more than $19,000 in state gas and also spent thousands of dollars in public money on “inappropriate purchases” of food and other items.
Santa Barbara County Fair and Exposition
Employees spent tens of thousands of dollars buying gas and could not document it was all for state purposes, according to a 2022 audit.
Santa Clara County Fair
The fair’s former director of marketing pleaded no contest in June to taking $40,000 in kickbacks to award a security contract at the fair.
Santa Cruz County Fair
A 2022 state audit found that an employee spent $33,000 on gasoline and maintenance for his personal vehicle, without documenting it was for official use.
Shasta District Fair
In 2024, Shasta County agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a 9-year-old girl and her family after sheriff’s deputies seized her goat so it could be butchered. The girl had raised the goat as part of the fair’s agricultural program, then changed her mind about watching a beloved animal turn into meat. But fair officials refused to allow her to back out of her contract; instead the county dispatched deputies across Northern California in pursuit of the animal.
Stanislaus County Fair
A 2023 audit found, among other things, that fair officials improperly used state credit cards on “lavish dinners” for the fair’s board of directors, including prime rib and ribeye steaks. Fair employees also sold alcohol without a valid license.
Tehama District Fair
A 2021 audit found $10,000in food and beverage purchases that lacked documentation.
Tulare County Fair
A 2020 state audit found that an employee was improperly reimbursed more than $20,000 for duplicate expenses and that state rules were not followed in numerous instances.
Ventura County Fair
In 2023, four men, including a man who worked for a payment company at the fair, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 in cash from a safe at the fair office.
Yolo County Fair
A 2025 audit found that fair officials spent $220,000 on their credit cards without receipts, including $5,077 in gifts, $2,837 in party supplies and $936 in personal items. In their response, officials acknowledged some improper expenses but added: “previous employees are responsible” and it would cost “more to recoup the costs than the value of the improper spending.”
Source: State audits, court documents and county grand jury reports.
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