Riverside County District Attorney (DA) Mike Hestrin announced Thursday that a criminal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment against Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez.
“The city is aware of allegations made regarding Coachella Mayor Steven A. Hernandez and the city’s administration is fully cooperating with authorities,” the city said in an emailed statement to The Record. “There is no additional information available to share at this time.”
Hernandez, who last November was elected mayor for a sixth term, was indicted on one felony count of violating conflict of interest rules relating to government contracts, four felony counts of perjury and four misdemeanor counts of violating conflict of interest rules relating to government contracts.
The indictment alleged Hernandez willfully and unlawfully made a contract in his official capacity in which he had a financial interest in connection with the city’s May 2023 agreement with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) regarding the Coachella Valley Housing First Program, a felony.
In an emailed statement to The Riverside Record, CVAG said it had fully cooperated with both the DA’s office and the grand jury, “answering every question and providing every piece of documentation that investigators requested.”
“CVAG has been informed that it is not the subject of the investigation,” the statement continued, noting the organization would continue to cooperate with authorities. “There has never been an implication from investigators that the investigation had anything to do with actions by elected officials serving in their CVAG capacity.”
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The indictment further alleged that Hernandez knowingly submitted false information related to gross income received on his annual Statement of Economic Interest public disclosure forms, also known as Form 700, filed in April 2022, March 2023, April 2024 and March 2025. Each of the filings was presented as a separate felony.
The indictment also alleged Hernandez willfully, unlawfully and knowingly made, participated in making or attempted to use his position to influence a governmental decision in which he knew or had reason to know he had a financial interest in the city’s use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to rehabilitate the Downtown Coachella fire station in November 2021, the January 2022 vote on the Fountainhead Plaza development, the May 2022 vote on the Tripoli mixed-use project and the July 2023 vote on the SunLine Transit Hub funding. All four allegations are misdemeanors.
According to the DA, Hernandez surrendered Tuesday at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside and posted bail, set at $112,500.
Hernandez plead not guilty during his Thursday arraignment at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He did not immediately return a request for comment from The Record.
According to the DA’s office, if Hernandez is convicted as charged, he would be barred for life from holding public office and face more than seven years in state prison.
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