On Jan. 21, 2026, San Bernardino County filed misdemeanor charges against Ward 7 representative, City Councilwoman Treasure Ortiz.
According to a press release from the San Bernardino City Municipal Government, Ortiz was charged with secretly recording conversations she had with police containing sensitive information via a recording device, a violation of California Penal Code Section 632(a). This criminalizes the nonconsensual use of “electronic amplifying or recording device(s) to eavesdrop upon or record (a) confidential communication.” The press release also indicated that no further public comments would be made in regards to specific details of the charges made.
The alleged criminal actions committed by Ortiz took place during the proceedings of a previous lawsuit filed by her in 2025. In this lawsuit, she accused a former San Bernardino Police Department detective of abusing his access to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), in order to uncover information about her for political purposes. She further alleged that the department had attempted to pressure her into dropping the charges.
San Bernardino city officials denied the allegations put forward by Ortiz, issuing a statement in May 2025 decrying the lawsuit as a misrepresentation of facts, calling it “frivolous.” The statement from the city clarified that “following a thorough review of facts and circumstances surrounding the original report and the claim that she filed, the City finds the information in the claim to be false and dishonest.” They also stated that the $2,000,000 claim filed against the city was “an attempt to swindle the City of San Bernardino.”
The situation remains ongoing, with more details related to both the original lawsuit and the recent criminal charges yet to be made public. Ortiz is expected to make her first court appearance on Feb. 19, 2026.
