‘Deceived’ NRCC lost $740,000
By Jackie Kucinich and Aaron Blake from The Hill

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said Thursday that former Treasurer Chris Ward apparently funneled several hundred thousand dollars to his personal and business bank accounts from the committee’s funds. The transfers caused the committee to severely over-report its cash-on-hand totals in recent financial reports.

In an update on its internal review of the accounting irregularities that were revealed in late January, the NRCC said the funneling dates back to 2004 and that its cash on hand in its most recent financial report is actually $740,000 less than it initially reported.

The NRCC also says Ward, who was the committee’s treasurer from 2003 to 2007, submitted “bogus audit reports” for all five years between 2002-2006. The last year the committee had a full audit was 2001. Ward was fired as an NRCC consultant when the irregularities were discovered. In a release, the NRCC said it was beginning to release some of the details of its review because it could do so without compromising a federal investigation into Ward.

On Thursday, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) briefed GOP members about the situation.
“Paramount to my chairmanship is the integrity and success of the NRCC,” Cole said in a statement. “However, the evidence we have today indicates we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual. From the moment we learned that bogus financial statements had been submitted to the bank on our behalf, we took decisive and speedy action by contacting the FBI, which opened a criminal investigation.” Read the entire story at http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/deceived-nrcc-lost-740000-2008-03-13.html