Report: Complaints against Oregon Lottery were baseless

This article has been updated with comment from the governor's office.

An investigation into allegations of civil rights violations against two Oregon Lottery Commission members found that the accusations were baseless, according to a report released Monday by the Lottery.

The allegations were laid out in a 12-page draft labor complaint from then-Lottery Director Jack Roberts. Gov. Kate Brown abruptly fired Roberts in April, shortly after he sent the complaint to one of Brown's advisers and put his deputy on paid leave following an altercation with an employee.

The "contentious nature" of Roberts' relationship with Lottery Commissioners was part of why he was fired, said Chris Pair, a spokesman for the governor.

In his letter, Roberts accused commissioners Liz Carle and Mary Wheat of attempting to deny a Lottery employee a promotion because of his Iranian heritage.

Carle said Monday that she expected the outcome and was glad to be vindicated.

Monday's report shows that Lottery employee Farshad Allahdadi was appointed by Roberts in February as assistant director for sales and retail services.

The position required confirmation by the commission, which Wheat and Carle opposed.

Commissioners had received anonymous emails raising concerns about Allahdadi's appointment because of his alleged conflict of interest with a Lottery contractor.

The conflict of interest allegations were unfounded and Allahdadi is still a Lottery employee, said Lottery spokeswoman Joanie Stevens-Schwenger.

Carle, an attorney, told Roberts she wanted to contact Lottery employees to investigate claims made against Allahdadi. Roberts agreed and Carle interviewed about a dozen employees.

When Carle and Roberts later discussed the interviews, Roberts informed her that he reclassified Allahdadi's promotion in a way that didn't require commission approval.

That move upset the commissioners, Stevens-Schwenger said.

Soon after, Roberts, a former state labor commission, sent his draft labor complaint to Heidi Moawad, one of the governor's policy advisers.

Roberts' letter was never sent to the Bureau of Labor and Industries. If it had been sent, the agency wouldn't necessarily investigate its claims, spokesman Charlie Burr, said.

Another hostile work environment investigation is ongoing, Stevens-Schwenger said. That investigation involves the altercation between Roberts' deputy, Roland Iparraguirre, and Lottery human resources director Janell Simmons.

Iparraguirre remains on paid leave and has claimed whistleblower status.

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