Sacramento County sheriff submits CapRadio investigation to prosecutors
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sacramento County Sheriff's Office submitted CapRadio investigation to prosecutors.
- A third-party audit linked $470,000 in unsupported spending to former GM Jun Reina.
- Prosecutors will assess embezzlement, grand theft based on fund misuse.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office submitted its investigation into Capital Public Radio’s former general manager for prosecutors to consider potential charges of embezzlement and grand theft.
A forensic examination last year found about $470,000 in expenses paid by the station but were not supported with either expense reports or receipts. These funds, some as far back as December 2017, were either paid to former General Manager Jun Reina or he purchased through a credit card, according to the forensic examination.
Reina’s card was used to buy a $10,250 stay at the Westin Hotel in St. Martin in the Caribbean, according to previous Bee reporting. Other charges include plane tickets from Hawaiian Airlines, Michelin-starred restaurant The Kitchen, a Dubai-based Emirates ticket, a steakhouse in Dubai, pet insurance and more.
Investigators submitted on Aug. 28 a probe into the “unauthorized use of CapRadio funds for personal gain,” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson with the Sheriff’s Office. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to bring charges of embezzlement and grand theft against at least one suspect.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, said District Attorney spokeswoman Shelly Orio.
Gandhi has previously declined to say who deputies are investigating, but Frank Maranzino, CapRadio’s interim president and general manager, has said in federal documents that “a formal general manager” is at the center of law enforcement investigation.
Reina held the title of general manager and president at CapRadio from 2020 until 2023. Since 2007, Reina served as CFO before being promoted to both CFO and COO in 2012.
Reina did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
CapRadio also sued Reina, known as Fidias Reina Jr., and accused him of stealing hundreds of thousands from the station for his personal use and sought to place his West Sacrament home in a trust. The money was allegedly used for extensive home renovations, his children’s university tuition, health care expenses and entertainment tickets, according to previous Bee reporting on the civil case.
Reina’s attorney said in a March court filing any “error” was “made in good faith and was unintentional.” CapRadio is also responsible for any of its own deficiencies, wrote Stockton-based defense attorney Adam Ramirez in the court documents.
“This answering defendant made an appropriate correction, repair or replacement or other remedy of the goods and services once notified of the error,” he said.
Attorneys in the case said last month a deal to resolve the case is close.
Albert Ellis, the attorney listed for Reina in the civil case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
What are embezzlement and grand theft charges?
The definition of theft, under California law, includes wrongfully taking another person’s property as both a physical act while also possessing the mental state to keep it wrongfully, said Bill Portanova, a Sacramento-based defense attorney.
A grand theft charge includes showing how a suspect never had lawful possession and took items without a person’s consent. An embezzlement charge entails a suspect lawfully owning an item, but intentionally misusing it, said Mark Reichel, a Sacramento-based defense attorney.
A prosecutor may file charges of both embezzlement and theft to cover the potential ways in which a person took money, Portanova said.
For example, a board of directors may have to expressly state any charges were against their wishes or would have never been approved, Reichel said. The board must also inform a person how the funds must be used, he said.
CapRadio’s lawsuit against Reina said he misled the board by providing finances that were “inaccurate and incomplete,” according to former Bee reporting.
If a suspect does not have the mental state to keep property that does not belong to them, their actions may not be a crime. In these cases, a defendant’s credibility may be established during trial, Portanova said.
“It’s really the magic of a jury trial,” Portanova said.
