NRCC Audit: Aide May Have Stolen “Hundreds of Thousands”As expected, the National Republican Campaign Committee today released the preliminary results of an investigation of its accounts — a probe that seeks to determine how much the committee’s former treasurer Chris Ward might have stolen.
For now, here’s what they have to say. Ward, who’d worked at the NRCC since 1995, seems to have faked all the NRCC’s audits from 2003 through 2006. During that time, the committee says in a press release, Ward made “several hundred thousands dollars” in unauthorized transfers to other fundraising committees he managed, money that eventually was transferred to his personal accounts. See my earlier post for how Ward was found out.
“The exact dollar figures are currently a moving target,” according to the NRCC press release. But indications are that it could be in the neighborhood of $1 million. “At year end 2006, the NRCC’s actual cash on hand was approximately $990,000 less than the amount reported to the FEC,” according to the release. The review is being conducted by the law firm Covington and Burling and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
As NRCC Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) puts it, “the evidence we have today indicates we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual.”
The NRCC’s last report to the FEC in February showed that the committee had approximately $6.4 million in cash on hand. But the investigation has reduced that number by $740,000, so that the correct number is appoximately $5.7 million. The DCCC reported $35.4 million in cash on hand.