LOS ANGELES – Less than a month since pleading not guilty to federal obstruction charges, former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander is reversing his position and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of scheming to falsify material facts, according to new court documents filed by federal prosecutors Friday.

In the new plea agreement, Englander agrees to appear in court and plead guilty to count one of the federal indictment filed against him on March 9. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will move to dismiss the remaining counts filed against Englander at the time of sentencing.

We reached out to Englander's defense attorney, Janet Levine, and received the following statement:

"Mitch accepts full responsibility for his actions and is contrite and embarrassed by his conduct.  With the help and support of his family and friends, he will continue to move forward and look for new ways to contribute to his community."

Englander was charged earlier this month for obstructing a federal investigation into his relationship with a Los Angeles businessman who allegedly supplied Englander with cash, an escort and a posh night out in Las Vegas.

During Englander’s first court appearance on March 13, Assistant U.S. Atty. Mack Jenkins told U.S. District Judge John F. Walter that the name of that businessman (identified as “Businessperson A” in the federal indictment) would remain concealed, citing the ongoing and wide-ranging investigation into alleged public corruption at City Hall.

During that hearing it was stated that Businessperson A operated two companies, one that sold cabinetry and another that sold smart-home automation equipment.  Federal prosecutors believe that the businessman plied Englander with gifts to be connected with real estate developers to sell his products. He also allegedly used his largesse to “groom and cultivate” other city officials.

Details of the Las Vegas trip are detailed in the federal indictment. Prosecutors say two of Englander’s staffers, a lobbyist and a real estate developer accompanied the former councilman on that excursion, during which the businessman turned over an envelope containing $10,000 in cash to Englander. Court documents reveal the man also gave Englande4r $1,000 in casino gambling chips, $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub and spent $2,481 on dinner at a restaurant. When the group returned to the hotel, the man ordered female escorts, paying $300 to $400 in cash for their services, according to the indictment.

Englander was charged with one count of participating in a scheme to falsify material facts, three counts of making false statements and three counts of witness tampering.

Englander previously served on the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee, often referred to as PLUM, the powerful five-person council body that approves all new city developments that require zoning changes.

At the time Englander served on PLUM, Councilman Jose Huizar chaired the committee.  The FBI raided his home and offices in 2018 as part of the federal probe into possible corruption. Huizar has not been charged and remains in office but Englander resigned one month after those FBI raids.

Last week Los Angeles real estate appraiser and political fundraiser, Justin Jangwoo Kim, agreed to plead guilty to a federal bribery charge for coordinating a $500,000 payment from a real estate developer to a councilmember who was a member of PLUM.

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Federal prosecutors have not named that council member, referring to him in court documents as “Councilmember A.” 

That fundraiser is expected in court March 31.