{"id":1684,"date":"2026-06-09T22:08:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:08:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:08:45","slug":"former-contra-costa-assessor-faced-years-of-scrutiny-before-fbi-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1684","title":{"rendered":"Former Contra Costa assessor faced years of scrutiny before FBI raid"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer had been the subject of investigations, lawsuits and political controversy long before FBI agents searched his home and former office Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more New heat blast for Bay Area will also bring red-flag fire danger<\/a><\/p>\n

None of those controversies has resulted in criminal charges or a conviction.<\/p>\n

FBI agents raided the county assessor\u2019s office on Arnold Drive, Kramer\u2019s home on West Arlington Street in Martinez and Assistant County Assessor Vince Robb\u2019s home on Temple Drive in Pacheco, according to an FBI spokesperson. A copy of a search warrant obtained by this news organization showed agents were seeking evidence related to wire fraud and \u201cother offenses.\u201d U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Illman signed the warrant June 4.<\/p>\n

Robb won election last week to fill Kramer\u2019s seat after the longtime assessor announced in June he would not seek reelection. Kramer first took office in 1994.<\/p>\n

Kramer\u2019s most recent controversy came in January, when county officials considered settling a lawsuit that accused him of improperly slashing a property\u2019s assessed value by millions of dollars and retaliating against the person who raised concerns. The lawsuit revived long-running questions about whether property values were manipulated during Kramer\u2019s tenure, dating back to 2009. Court records and media reports said he avoided paying $21,000 after his own property was underassessed.<\/p>\n

That same year, Kramer\u2019s office overvalued the vacant dirt lots of a developer with whom he had been publicly feuding. The overvaluation cost the company more than $200,000, according to previous reporting by this organization.<\/p>\n

Other controversies followed.<\/p>\n

The California Fair Political Practices Commission fined Kramer $5,500 in 2019 for improperly reporting more than $25,000 in campaign contributions and for reporting a $90,000 personal loan to his campaign committee that his 2014 reelection campaign never received.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose announces timeline for renaming Cesar Chavez landmarks<\/a><\/p>\n

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In 2011, the Contra Costa County District Attorney\u2019s Office investigated land deals tied to Kramer but did not prosecuted him. Two deputy district attorneys later complained that their then-boss, District Attorney Mark Peterson, killed the probe to protect Kramer. Peterson left office in 2017 after pleading guilty to stealing from his own campaign fund.<\/p>\n

In 2010, this news organization reported that Kramer failed to report loans, business interests and property ownership within the county between 2002 and 2009. Kramer later made 33 amendments to his state-required financial disclosure statements. Also that year, he sued the county after the Board of Supervisors voted to censure\u00a0 alleged sexual harassment in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Kramer\u2019s use of gift deeds to acquire property in the county also drew scrutiny. In 2009, a civil grand jury sought Kramer\u2019s removal from office over alleged workplace harassment. Kramer took the case to trial and prevailed.<\/p>\n

Kramer, through his attorney Michael Rains, has repeatedly denied legal wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Read more Voters approve new parcel tax for open space in Santa Clara County<\/a><\/p>\n

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Former Contra Costa Assessor Gus Kramer is no stranger to having his name at the center of investigations or lawsuits. He’d been the center of controversy long before the FBI descended on the Contra Costa Tax Assessors Office on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Contra Costa assessor faced years of scrutiny before FBI raid - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1684\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Contra Costa assessor faced years of scrutiny before FBI raid - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Contra Costa Assessor Gus Kramer is no stranger to having his name at the center of investigations or lawsuits. 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