Overview
- New investigations follow Los Angeles Times reporting that detailed travel and fundraising practices tied to entities with business before Lara's agency.
- Records show at least 32 trips to 23 countries over more than 163 days, with significant gaps in required disclosures for hotels, flights and dining.
- The NAIC covered first- and business-class airfare for Lara, including tickets costing $11,626 to Singapore in 2024 and $9,517 to Tokyo in 2023, while a planned $11,730 trip to Nepal was canceled.
- After initially saying it lacked receipts, the Department of Insurance released 452 pages of airline bookings; state staff on the same trips flew economy as Lara traveled in premium cabins.
- Lara says he complied with ethics and campaign rules, while CDI notes NAIC-organized travel is funded via industry assessments and says it is updating missing disclosure filings.