EUGENE, Oregon (October 19, 2026) — The La Mota scandal has reached Val Hoyle’s doorstep. A federal grand jury has indicted Rosa Cazares, the cannabis CEO, Hoyle donor, and beneficiary of a half-million-dollar grant from Hoyle’s own agency, on eight felony counts. Monique DeSpain, the Republican nominee for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, today demanded that Hoyle stop dodging and tell voters what she knows. Oregonians can see the full record at WhatsValHiding.com.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, Cazares is charged with willfully failing to pay more than $1.5 million in federal taxes withheld from her own employees’ paychecks at La Mota and its payroll company, 503 Staffing, between March 2020 and December 2021. Federal prosecutors say this is one of several major fraud cases and that additional matters are pending.
Those are the same years Val Hoyle ran the Bureau of Labor and Industries, the agency whose entire job is protecting Oregon workers. Instead of protecting those workers, Hoyle’s agency approved roughly $554,000 for ENDVR, a nonprofit tied to Cazares, after Cazares’s company gave to Hoyle’s campaign. Federal investigators subpoenaed BOLI’s records on that grant in 2024, and Hoyle remains under federal investigation today.
Hoyle knew La Mota’s workers were being mistreated. By August 2021, 11 La Mota employees had filed complaints with Hoyle’s own agency alleging misconduct by the company. That month, according to Willamette Week, Cazares texted Hoyle’s personal phone asking for a letter of recommendation to a national cannabis industry board. Hoyle’s answer was one word: “Yep.” Cazares and her business partner gave Hoyle’s campaigns $26,800. Her workers got a Labor Commissioner who looked the other way. What’s Val hiding? See the texts at WhatsValHiding.com.
“Eleven La Mota workers went to Val Hoyle’s agency for help. Instead, Val Hoyle was texting their boss from her personal phone and writing her recommendation letters during the very months federal prosecutors say that boss was keeping workers’ tax money that never reached the IRS,” DeSpain said. “So I’ll ask the question every Oregonian should be asking: what’s Val hiding? What did she know about Rosa Cazares, when did she know it, and why did her agency hand over that money? Val Hoyle has spent two years stonewalling. A federal grand jury just ran out of patience with her donor. Voters shouldn’t have to wait for the next indictment to get the truth. Go to WhatsValHiding.com and see for yourself.”
This is a pattern, not a coincidence. Hoyle failed to disclose 217 stock trades on time in violation of the federal STOCK Act, an admission she made only after she was caught. Now her donor is indicted, prosecutors say more cases are coming, and Hoyle still won’t answer basic questions. What’s Val hiding? The record is at WhatsValHiding.com.
La Mota’s money flowed through the top echelons of Oregon’s Democratic establishment. La Mota, its owners, and a political action committee run by Cazares gave more than $68,000 to Gov. Tina Kotek’s 2022 campaign, $38,000 of it in cash, according to Willamette Week. La Mota’s consulting deal with then-Secretary of State Shemia Fagan ended Fagan’s career in 2023. Val Hoyle and Tina Kotek sat at the same table, and Oregonians are still waiting for either one to come clean.
“I spent 30 years in the Air Force, where accountability was not optional, and nobody got to hide from the truth,” DeSpain said. “Val Hoyle wants to run out the clock until November 3. I won’t let her. Oregonians deserve answers, and they deserve them now. What’s Val hiding? Find out at WhatsValHiding.com.”
About Monique DeSpainMonique DeSpain is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, attorney, and mother running for Congress in Oregon’s 4th District. After 30 years of military service, she has dedicated herself to public service in Oregon, focusing on restoring a prosperous economy, addressing the state’s affordability crisis, and reducing the regulatory and tax burden on small businesses and working families. Learn more at moniqueforcongress.com.