OC Public Water President Lied On Election Paperwork, DA Says

MISSION VIEJO, CA — The president of a public water utility resigned this week after Duane Cave pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of falsifying nomination paperwork, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.

Cave was sentenced to 160 hours of community service and one year of informal probation, Spitzer said.

According to Spitzer, Cave illegally claimed he lived within the water district's boundaries — which include Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano — while living in Rancho Santa Margarita.

All Moulton Niguel Water District board members are required to live within the district's jurisdiction, Spitzer said.

Cave was elected to serve on the Moulton Niguel Water District through 2028 and has been a member of the utility's board of directors for the last decade, prosecutors said.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office began investigating complaints into Duane's residency violations following a resident complaint in Oct. 2024.

"For a candidate to lie to get on the ballot is not just committing a crime, it is robbing the peopel of their most precious right, their voice of who they want to represent them, to protect them, and to fight for all their other rights," Spitzer said. "Elected officials are elected to represent the communities where they live and Duane Cave does not deserve to represent the customers of the Moulton Niguel Water District because he doesn't live there."