CapRadio is suing former GM Jun Reina, alleging he used his positions at the station to hide unauthorized use of business accounts and credit for personal enrichment.
The station in Sacramento, Calif., filed the lawsuit Dec. 19 against Reina and other defendants unknown to the station. It is seeking at least $900,000 in damages.
California State University, Sacramento, the station’s license holder, also recently released a mostly unredacted version of a forensic examination that it had previously released in August with more redactions. The unredacted report names Reina in connection to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unsupported payments.
The Sacramento Bee made a records request for the unredacted report and its attorneys demanded it before it was released to the newspaper and updated on the university’s website.
Sacramento State PIO Lanaya Lewis told Current that the university had always intended to release information as soon as law enforcement confirmed that doing so would no longer hamper an ongoing investigation.
Golf, meals and vacations
The lawsuit claims Reina, who worked at the station in different roles from 2007 until he resigned in 2023, used his control of the station’s credit cards and bank accounts to enrich himself, including by transferring money from CPR’s bank accounts to his personal accounts. He is named as Fidias “Jun” Reina Jr.
The lawsuit also names other unknown defendants, saying the complaint will be amended when their identities are ascertained. The lawsuit states CapRadio believes the defendants are in “some manner responsible for the debt alleged herein.”
The suit alleges Reina transferred $372,397.68 from CapRadio bank accounts to his personal accounts. It also claims he used CapRadio credit cards for personal expenses, including plane tickets, vacations at hotels and resorts, golf course fees, meals at upscale restaurants and numerous other items.
CapRadio credit cards paid for more than $105,000 in improvements to Reina’s West Sacramento home, the lawsuit claimed.
The suit is seeking his West Sacramento home to be placed in a constructive trust as part of the relief.
Lawyers who were representing Reina as of August could not immediately be reached for comment.
New details in unredacted report
In August, Sacramento State released a CliftonLarsonAllen LLP report that found hundreds of thousands of dollars in “unsupported payments” involving an individual whose identity was redacted. The newly unredacted report reveals that person was Reina.
The report had also found evidence of possible conflicts of interest involving former members of CapRadio’s board and certain contracts.
In August, the university’s website said names were redacted from the report due to an “ongoing law enforcement investigation and privacy.”
CapRadio Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer Christopher Bruno said that the investigation is ongoing.
“In consultation with law enforcement, we have confirmed that the release of this information will no longer impede their criminal investigation,” Bruno told Current in an email.
The CliftonLarsonAllen report notes that the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants prohibits the firm from opining on whether fraud or other criminal activity had occurred.
The report found more than $460,000 in “unsupported payments” either directly disbursed to Reina or paid by CapRadio for credit card purchases made by Reina without corresponding expense reports or receipts.
It also said another $307,000 in unsupported payments may have been related to Reina’s purchases, but the statements and supporting documents were not available or could not be found.
A witness told CliftonLarsonAllen that statements for an American Express card in Reina’s name were scheduled for automatic payment from CapRadio’s bank account. The witness said they never received support or explanation of the transactions’ business purposes.
CliftonLarsonAllen determined CapRadio made payments on the account from January 2021 through June 2022 totaling more than $127,000. The report said Sacramento State couldn’t locate supporting documents for the expenses.
Sacramento State then provided CliftonLarsonAllen with American Express statements from December 2017 through December 2020. Sacramento State could not determine a business purpose for more than $273,000 of those charges.
The unredacted report includes pages of documents listing unsupported American Express transactions, including more than $17,700 spent on golf.
Reina retained legal counsel and did not provide additional information or documentation, according to the report. In May, his counsel informed CliftonLarsonAllen he no longer wanted to be interviewed and wanted to discuss reimbursing the station, but CliftonLarsonAllen was not authorized to have that discussion, the report said.
“Our conclusions on these transactions are subject to change should Subject #1 [Reina] provide additional information or documentation related to these transactions,” the report said.
CapRadio’s Bruno confirmed to Current the station is pursuing methods beyond the lawsuit to recover funds.
“CapRadio is actively pursuing all avenues to ensure that there is remediation and accountability for past actions that have impacted the station,” he said in an email. “Our community has stood by us and deserves nothing less.”
Current Digital Editor Mike Janssen contributed data analysis to this article.