A look inside Oakland’s 1% – The Oakland Chamber of Commerce

Recent events have brought to light the considerable influence that big businesses have within Oakland’s political establishment. ^[1] The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, whose Board is dominated by executives of large corporations, successfully urged City officials to twice evict Occupy Oakland from Frank Ogawa Plaza.  On November 3, Chamber CEO and President Joe Haraburda, a resident of Tiburon, declared at an Oakland Council meeting, “We have made our position clear.… We want Occupy Oakland closed.” ^[2]   To achieve this objective, the Chamber engaged in a public relations campaign seemingly designed to undermine support for the Occupy movement among residents and city officials. ^[3] Dan Siegel, a former legal advisor and confidante to Oakland’s Mayor recently attested to the Chamber’s role in the eviction, “ She was very much pressured by conservatives on the Oakland City Council, by the Chamber of Commerce …” ^[4]

Given the Chamber’s actions, it is important to examine the interests and perspectives of its leadership, particularly those that may have been involved in developing its anti-Occupy campaign. Do these business leaders reflect and represent Oakland? Are they credible sources of information?  We undertook a review of public documents in an attempt to answer these questions. Some of our initial findings are quite troubling.

Chamber of Commerce Communications Chair Recently Charged for Wall Street-Style Financial Fraud Involving $19.75 Million

On November 3rd, the same day Chamber CEO Haraburda was declaring Occupy Oakland must go, on the other side of the U.S. another Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce leader, Todd Hansen, current Communications Chair and member of the twelve person Executive Committee, was charged with three counts of fraud and conspiracy involving $19.7 million.  The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the alleged five-year plot a “classic accounting fraud scheme in flagrant violation of their fiduciary duties—thinking they could enrich themselves, their families, and friends, at the expense of their company, its corporate parent, and its shareholders.” ^[5]

The alleged fraud occurred while Hansen was the President of Posterscope between 2004 and 2009.  Posterscope is the US division of the London-based media giant Aegis Group. Aegis is listed on the London Stock Exchange and its company Posterscope is, “the world’s largest out-of-home communications agency, with offices in 21 countries.” ^[6]   Hansen, a resident of Bakersfield, later joined Clear Channel Outdoor as President of the San Francisco Division. ^[7]  Hansen, and his executive colleague, James Buckley, the Chief Financial Officer of Posterscope, were charged with repeatedly arranging the falsification of financial documents as a way to secure increased bonuses, stock options and raises based on the false performance of the company they were charged with having the fiduciary responsibility for and oversight of.

In addition to the falsification of accounting records Hansen allegedly misused company funds to enrich himself personally, his family and friends.  Hansen is charged with ordering the company staff to pay apartment rental fees, purchase a membership in a country club, and to pay for international and domestic air travel for his family and friends. According to the charges, during the period when the fraud scheme took place Hansen received approximately $1.1 million in salary and bonuses.

According to the FBI, Hansen faces a maximum of 20 years years in prison if convicted for each of the three counts filed against him by the federal government.  His charges include one count of wire fraud and conspiracy, another count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.

The fraud scheme appears to have been uncovered by an outside accounting firm reviewing the finances of the company in 2010, after Mr. Hansen left the company to take the position with Clear Channel.  During the financial audit of internal company records certain errors were identified.  The FBI interviewed Posterscope staff who testified to the facts alleged in the charges.  In addition the FBI is in possession of emails from Hansen to Posterscope staff telling them to make the false accounting entries and to cut checks from the company accounts to pay for his personal non-company-related luxuries for himself like a country club membership and and numerous flights.  Specifically, the complaint charges that Hansen directed the company’s staff to falsify financial projections. The fraud scheme appears to have included Hansen instructing staff to report higher billing rates for clients than they were actually billed, falsification of vendor agreements that were never actually signed by the vendors and other financial shenanigans. ^[8]

Hansen left Posterscope in 2009 and subsequently took a position with Clear Channel Outdoor as the President of the Northern California Division. Todd Hansen has been a member of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors since at least 2009. ^[9]

Given these facts, obvious and important questions arise. Will Todd Hansen continue to serve on the  Board of the Oakland Chamber? Will he remain the Communications Chair? Was Mr. Hansen involved in developing any part of the Chamber’s anti-Occupy public relations campaign? What were his interactions with Oakland elected officials since he joined Clear Channel and the Chamber in 2009?

Who We Are

This white paper is a product of the Occupy the Chamber Research Coalition, a local network of academic, community, and labor researchers with over 40 years of collective experience in corporate and political research. The coalition was formed to expose the greed and corruption of the 1% and the influence of large corporations in local politics.

1. ^[1] The One Percent Solution, East Bay Express, Nov. 16, 2011, web, accessed on Nov. 16, 2011, http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/the-one-percent-solution/Content?oid=3042119 ↩
2. ^[2] “Occupy Oakland Debated at Public Forum,” LA Times, Nov. 4, 2011, web, accessed on Nov. 15, 2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/04/local/la-me-occupy-oakland-20111104 ↩
3. ^[3] Jobs not Tents, Oakland Chamber of Commerce blog, accessed on Nov. 16, 2011, http://oaklandchamber.blogspot.com/2011/11/jobs-not-tents.html ↩
4. ^[4] “Top Aide to Oakland Mayor Resigns Over Occupy Raid,” Democracy Now, web, accessed Nov. 16, 2011, http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2011/11/15/top_aide_to_oakland_mayor_resigns ↩
5. ^[5] U.S. Attorney Preet Bhara, Ellen Davis, Jerika Richardson, et al.,. United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York. Manhattan US Attorney and FBI Assistant Director-in-charge Announce Charges Against Former President And Former Finance Director Of One of the World’s Director of One of the World’s Largest Outdoor Advertising Companies For $19.75 Million Accounting fraud Scheme. United States Attorney’s Office, 2011. Print. ↩
6. ^[6] “Aegis.” Aegis Media. Aegis Media, 11/15/2011. Web. 15 Nov 2011.<http://www.aegisplc.com/businesses/aegismedia/posterscope.asp&xgt;. ↩
7. ^[7] Oakland Business Review, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, February 2010, page 3 ↩
8. ^[8] Friedlander, Nicole, Christopher Frey, et al. United State of America. USA. United States of America v. Todd Hansen, and James Buckley, defendants. New York: , 2011. Print. ↩
9. ^[9] 2009-2010 Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Oakland Chamber of Commerce website, accessed 11/15/11, http://www.oaklandchamber.com/about/board%202009-2010.asp ↩