A bombshell investigation is putting California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in the hot seat, raising serious questions about his judgment, priorities, and alleged misuse of campaign funds. A report from The San Francisco Standard reveals that Lara — California’s top insurance watchdog — spent over $30,000 from a dormant campaign committee on extravagant meals and first-class travel, all while homeowners in wildfire zones face mounting coverage losses.

Lara, who set up a campaign for lieutenant governor but has not officially declared any run for office, allegedly used the so-called “shell” campaign as a financial backstop for fine dining and luxury junkets. Records show tabs at upscale restaurants like Los Angeles’ San Laurel, where Lara reportedly indulged in jamón ibérico, lobster salpicón, sea urchin, and $16 grapefruits — washed down with high-end Spanish wine — all partially paid for from his undeclared campaign coffers. First-class trips to Paris, Bermuda, and Bogotá were also among the perks.

“This is someone who clearly had no business being elected to this position,” one Democratic consultant told The Standard, adding that Lara is “abusing the office” with support from the state’s entrenched political elite.

Even more troubling, Lara’s jet-setting lifestyle has coincided with repeated absences from critical hearings on California’s deteriorating insurance market. He skipped the first insurance hearing of 2025 entirely, choosing instead to attend a Bermuda insurance summit — a gathering dominated by reinsurers with deep financial interests in California wildfire claims. His office defended the move, arguing it was necessary to court global stakeholders responsible for covering billions in risk.

“Nearly 40% of the world’s reinsurance companies are based in Bermuda,” Lara’s office said in a statement, “paying out trillions of dollars in claims — including those for wildfires.” But critics aren’t buying the justification. Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, himself a former California insurance commissioner, told ABC7, “My job was always to put consumers first. Clearly, this value hasn’t continued.”

Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones echoed the call for accountability, urging all officials to “show up” and do their jobs instead of globe-trotting on the public dime.

According to ABC7’s own reporting, Lara has taken at least 46 taxpayer-funded trips since assuming office in 2019, often staying in five-star hotels. He’s also missed the majority of state Senate insurance hearings — precisely the forums where California’s insurance crisis should be addressed. That crisis has reached critical mass, with companies pulling out of fire-prone areas and homeowners being dumped into last-resort coverage options at much higher premiums.

Adding fuel to the fire is Lara’s use of the phantom campaign fund. Under California law, officials are allowed to keep campaign committees open even if they’re not officially running — but they’re still bound by rules governing transparency and personal use. Ethics watchdogs are warning that what Lara has done might skirt the edges of legality.

“It’s a way for them to keep a campaign war chest active, regardless of their real intentions to run,” said Sean McMorris of Common Cause California. “But the public absolutely has the right to question how those funds are being used.”

Lara’s actions raise bigger questions about political accountability in the Golden State. Even as Californians lose insurance coverage and flee the state in droves over affordability concerns, their top insurance regulator appears more focused on luxury dining and overseas events than on fixing the broken system he was elected to oversee.

The commissioner has pitched temporary solutions like a moratorium on cancellations and non-renewals, but watchdogs like Consumer Watchdog argue that these are band-aids — and weak ones at that. The core issue, they say, is Lara’s cozy relationship with insurers and his refusal to demand meaningful expansion of coverage in wildfire areas.

As calls for transparency and accountability mount from both sides of the aisle, Lara has yet to issue any public statement directly addressing the lavish spending. But with growing scrutiny from the media, lawmakers, and ethics groups, the insurance commissioner may not be able to dodge tough questions much longer.

For now, California homeowners facing disaster-driven cancellations will have to wonder whether their commissioner’s next move is toward a policy solution — or just another five-star destination.