Frank Lizarraga, El Prado Golf Course, and Alan Wapner: What the Public Record Shows

Frank Lizarraga is the managing member of two entities that hold or held leases on San Bernardino County-administered land: Sultana Properties LLC and El Prado Development LLC. The underlying land for El Prado is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and leased to San Bernardino County, which in turn subleases it to El Prado Development.

San Bernardino County's own December 3, 2024 staff report documents that Sultana Properties fell into arrears on its lease payments. The County calculated $22,443 in missed rent plus $16,141 in interest and fees, totaling $38,584 in arrears. The County authorized an amendment permitting Sultana to repay that amount monthly over the remainder of the lease. The County characterized the amended $1,658 monthly base rent as in the "low-range for comparable land in the Chino area."

County records separately confirm that El Prado Development became successor tenant for the approximately 314.21-acre golf-course property in 2023, with Lizarraga identified as managing member.

County records document two distinct Board of Supervisors votes on the El Prado sublease extension:

• February 11, 2025: The Board authorized an exclusive/alternative negotiation procedure with El Prado Development — bypassing a competitive procurement process.
• April 29, 2025: The Board voted 4–1 to choose the negotiated 22-year extension over competitive bidding. The extension runs through August 31, 2047, with a starting base rent of $11,000 per month, required repairs estimated at $4.1 million, and annual capital-investment requirements.

The Press Enterprise reported that Curt Hagman voted in favor of the extension and had received campaign contributions from Lizarraga-connected entities. The article focuses on Hagman's relationship with Lizarraga; it does not establish that Alan Wapner participated in or influenced these County Board votes. Those decisions were made by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, not the Ontario City Council.

The Press Enterprise reported that Phyllis Shih — previously identified in California Secretary of State records as a manager of El Prado Development LLC alongside Lizarraga — has filed a civil lawsuit against Lizarraga. The lawsuit, as reported, alleges:

• El Prado Development was originally structured as a 50/50 partnership: Lizarraga and Shih each held equal interests.
• Shih supplied the initial $1 million in capital; Lizarraga contributed professional and management services.
• Both partners were originally required to agree on financial decisions.
• Lizarraga allegedly forged Shih's signature on business documents.
• He allegedly altered the operating arrangement so that he claimed 71% control, reducing Shih's interest from 50% to 29%.
• Lizarraga allegedly justified the reduction based on Shih's refusal to pay $709,499 for parking-lot and clubhouse work.
• Shih contends those expenses could have been paid from approximately $2.3 million in golf-course revenue.
• The lawsuit alleges Lizarraga tried to force her out after the business became successful.

The Press Enterprise also reported that Lizarraga allegedly wrote to Shih in 2025 that he had undertaken "considerable and very substantial efforts" to secure County approval of the sublease extension. If accurately quoted from an authenticated letter attached to the litigation, that statement could become a significant primary exhibit.

The Shih lawsuit resolves a documentary anomaly previously noted in Wapner Watch's evidence matrix: California Secretary of State filings showed Shih's name appearing, disappearing, and reappearing as a manager of El Prado Development LLC. The lawsuit now provides a named party's sworn account of why that sequence occurred.

Campaign finance records document contributions from three Lizarraga-connected entities to Alan Wapner's 2026 Ontario mayoral campaign:

On July 28, 2026, FBI agents executed search warrants at multiple locations connected to this investigation. Reported search locations included:

• Alan Wapner's Ontario residence
• Frank Lizarraga's home
• Frank Lizarraga's office

Separate airport-related subpoenas were also reported. The search warrants remain sealed. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was unclear whether Wapner, Hagman, Lizarraga, or Su were themselves targets of the investigation. Neither Wapner nor Lizarraga has been charged with any crime.

Attorney-client relationship — primary court record: San Bernardino County Superior Court records establish that Frank J. Lizarraga Jr. of Lizarraga Law Firm, APC served as attorney of record for Alan Wapner, Judi Wapner, and Daisy Macias in a verified civil complaint filed July 21, 2026 — seven days before the federal searches (Case No. CIVSB2621487, Wapner et al. v. Garcia). This is a direct attorney-client relationship documented by a primary court record, not a donor or political-network inference. The temporal proximity to the federal searches is noted; no connection between the litigation and the searches has been established in public reporting, and the search warrants remain sealed.