SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is facing accusations that he retaliated against his former press secretary by stripping her of her duties and eventually firing her after she reported allegations of his illegal and unethical political conduct with his brother, Rick Rivas, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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former press secretary, filed the lawsuit in Sacramento County against the Rivas brothers and the California Assembly. KCRA 3 was the first to obtain and report the court filings on Tuesday night. Rivas’ campaign called Moreno’s claims false, defamatory and meritless.
It comes weeks after Moreno was abruptly fired last month after being accused of sexual harassment. She had served as his press secretary since 2023. In a rare move, Rivas’ Assembly Rules Committee released heavily redacted records surrounding the allegation to the public. Moreno said it was a move meant to slander her name.
Moreno’s lawsuit, filed by Attorney Ognian Gavrilov, includes several alleged violations of the law, including First Amendment rights violations and bribery under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO. The act is meant to fight organized crime.
California law requires official state business to be separate from campaign activity. Moreno’s lawsuit alleges the Rivas brothers constantly crossed those boundaries and did so to carry out illegal and unethical political acts.
Rick is a political consultant, the Vice President of California Affairs for the American Beverage Association, and the former legislative affairs director for the Govern for California Political Action Committee. He is one of the Speaker’s closest political advisors and has played an outsized influence in Rivas’ campaign.
The lawsuit claims Moreno complained to the legislature’s Workplace Conduct Unit in February 2025 about unethical and illegal practices between the two brothers, along with Rivas’ communications Director, Nick Miller. She reported that Rivas misused public campaign staffers and had them direct government staffers, plus allegations that he used public funds for campaign-related press conferences.
Moreno stated her complaint to the WCU included allegations that Robert and Rick Rivas funneled money to control the Speaker’s office actions when it came to proposed legislation. Moreno claimed that as a result, Rivas denied her a pay raise and fired her on August 6.
