Former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander pleaded not guilty Monday, March 9, to seven counts of obstructing an investigation into accusations that he accepted cash, female escort services, hotel rooms and expensive meals from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

Englander, who represented communities in the northwestern San Fernando Valley, is also accused of lying to the FBI about his conduct, according to federal officials. He has been released on $50,000 bail Monday afternoon. He was also ordered by a judge not to have contact with any witnesses and remove seven guns from his Santa Monica home.

Related: Englander’s stunning departure from City Council was a complex farewell

Englander is expected to return to the courthouse for the next hearing on March 12.

Englander said in a statement released by his attorney Janet Levine that he is “proud of the work he has done to serve his community as both volunteer reserve officer and public official and a public official. Despite this setback, with the support of his family and friends, he looks forward to continuing his lifelong contributions to the community that has given him so much.”

Former LA City Councilman Mitch Englander just pleaded not guilty in federal court to federal corruption charges. ##lacityhall he is being released on a 50K unsecured bond, and is due back in court March 12. …. — Ryan Carter (@ryinie) March 9, 2020

Englander, 49, was taken into custody Monday morning after being named in a seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Jan. 16.

The indictment charges Englander with one count of participating in a scheme to falsify material facts, three counts of making false statements and three counts of witness tampering.

Englander represented Los Angeles Council District 12 at City Hall from July 2011 until he stepped down in December of 2018 to work for a sports and entertainment company.

According to the indictment, on Dec. 31, 2018 — the day he resigned from the Los Angeles City Council — Englander again met with the FBI and federal prosecutors, made additional false statements about receiving personal benefits from the businessman and also falsely stated that he encouraged the businessman to “be transparent, and share everything” with the FBI.

Englander’s former aide, John Lee, was elected to fill out the remainder of his term. Lee currently leads the balloting from the March 3 primary election to fill the position for a full four-year term.

Lee was recognized by the City Council in August as the councilman-elect for Lee defeated Loraine Lundquist in an August 2019 special election to fill Englander’s northwest San Fernando Valley 12th District seat. Lee faced Lundquist again in the March 3, 2020 primary.

The indictment claims Englander schemed to cover up his acceptance of cash payments, expensive meals and escort services from a businessman who operated companies in Los Angeles relating to major development projects and sought to increase his business opportunities in the city.

The businessman began cooperating with the FBI in a public corruption investigation focused on suspected “pay-to-play” schemes involving Los Angeles public officials weeks after the Las Vegas trip, the indictment said.

The indictment also alleges that from August 2017 through December 2018, Englander knowingly and willfully falsified and concealed material facts pertaining to this federal public corruption investigation and also covered up facts that he had accepted items of value during June 2017 trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, the indictment said.

During his trip to Las Vegas with two city staffers, a lobbyist and a real estate developer, Englander accepted from the businessman an envelope with $10,000 in cash, services from a female escort, hotel rooms, $1,000 in casino gambling chips, $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub and a $2,481 dinner at a restaurant, according to the indictment.

In June of 2017, the businessman allegedly gave Englander an envelope with $5,000 in cash. Shortly after the trips, Englander arranged for the businessman to pitch his business to a friend of Englander’s who was a developer.

A few weeks later, after learning about the FBI’s investigation, Englander privately sent an encrypted message to the businessman via the online messaging service Confide indicating that he now wanted to reimburse him for portions of the June 2017 Las Vegas trip, the indictment said.

If convicted of the seven charges in the indictment, Englander would face a maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison.

His arrest comes amid an ongoing corruption probe at City Hall centered on relationships between elected officials and well-heeled developers. In November 2018, FBI agents searched City Councilman Jose Huizar’s City Hall and field offices, along with his home, as part of the probe focusing on major real estate investments in the downtown area by Chinese companies. Huizar was chairman of the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee at the time. Huizar was never arrested or charged with a crime.

Lundquist, who ran against Lee in the March 3 election to represent Council District 12, said in a statement the indictment of Englander “raises many questions about John Lee’s involvement, starting with the basics: What did John Lee know, when did he know it, and was he involved in the cover-up?”

“I also find it startling that the Grand Jury indictment occurred on January 16th, a month and a half before the election but is just being revealed now. I think the voters of the 12th District deserved to have this critical information before the election. The fact of the matter is Englander engineered his succession plan in the special election, propping up John Lee, even though he was under federal investigation and was fully aware of it,” according to her statement.

In a statement, Lee said he accompanied Englander on his trip to Las Vegas in June 2017.

“I did everything in my power to pay for and reimburse expenses related to this trip. I was unaware of any illegal activities for which Councilmember Englander is being charged. I completely cooperated with the FBI when they contacted me for voluntary interviews in July and August 2017 and will continue to do so,” according to his statement.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This version of the story corrects incorrect city listed in earlier version.