Hawaiian Gardens

The City Council will hire an accounting firm to conduct an independent audit of a multimillion-dollar charity bingo operation that state officials say illegally paid nearly $100,000 in wages with money it made from the games.

In a letter to city officials last month, the state attorney general’s office made five allegations against Cooper Fellowship Inc., a Santa Ana alcohol rehabilitation facility that runs the Hawaiian Gardens bingo hall to raise funds.

Law enforcement officials say the bingo operation, which grosses about $1.5 million a month, is the largest bingo operation in the state.

Douglas Dunlap, Hawaiian Gardens city manager, said interviews with accounting firms began this week and a final selection would be made in about a month. The city has the power to revoke the operation’s business license and shut down the game.

In addition to the wage dispute, attorney general officials allege Cooper Fellowship broke the law by borrowing about $200,000 to set up the bingo parlor and using $70,000 in profits to repave a parking lot outside the Hawaiian Gardens facility. In addition, they allege about 30% of the bingo workers are not members of the charitable organization, as required by law, and criticized the group’s bookkeeping practices, saying they make it difficult to control skimming.

Cooper Fellowship officials have denied any wrongdoing, saying attorney general officials have misinterpreted state laws and singled out their bingo operation simply because it has been successful.