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Former Stanton councilmember accused of not living in district she represented pleads not guilty

March 13, 2025

Former Stanton Councilmember Hong Alyce Van pleaded not guilty to felony charges stemming from her allegedly not living in the district she represented.

Van entered the plea at a courthouse in Santa Ana on Thursday, March 13. Prosecutors have accused Van of allegedly not living in the district she represented, lying on her candidate paperwork when she filed for reelection last year, and not being entitled to vote at an election. She’s facing four felony charges.

After the hearing, Scott Simmons, Van’s attorney, said that she is looking forward to her day in court and will deal with the facts of the case then. Simmons said they are in the process of negotiating with prosecutors.

The hearing was before Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Murray, who scheduled a pre-trial hearing before a different judge in late April because he has a friendship with Simmons.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 17 announced it had charged her with perjury; offering a false or forged document to be filed, registered; filing false nomination papers; and not being entitled to vote at an election.

The DA’s office alleged that Van moved from her home in District 2 to another one she purchased in District 4 less than a year after being elected in November 2020.

She kept her previous home and allowed other family members to live in it, according to the DA’s office. Van, on the day of council meetings, would drive from her District 4 home to her old home in District 2 before walking to City Hall, according to prosecutors.

Van should have resigned after moving, prosecutors said. She also used her old address to file her candidate paperwork and to vote in the November election, prosecutors said.

Van joined the City Council in 2019 after being appointed to a vacancy. She lost her race for reelection to Victor Barrios for the District 2 council seat.

Orange County Register

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Former Stanton councilmember accused of not living in district she represented pleads not guilty

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