By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/KvmoFV
May 22, 2012 :: Nearly $100,000 in checks made out to the head of a Los Angeles Trade Tech college foundation may have been forged, according to an audit released Monday.
The Los Angeles Community College District launched the audit as part of a probe into the foundation's finances and, in particular, payments to the executive director.
The auditors had handwriting experts review the checks and other documents. The experts concluded that dozens of checks bearing Trade Tech President Roland "Chip" Chapdelaine's signature were not actually signed by Chapdelaine, although auditors wrote that they were "unable to render an opinion" as to who signed them. The questionable checks totaled more than $137,000. The bulk of them were payments totaling $99,676 to the foundation's head, Rhea Chung.
The audit found another official's signature appeared to be forged on a bonus agreement and another contract involving Chung. Additionally, the auditors said that some documents provided to them by Chung appeared to have been "changed and/or misrepresented," including foundation budget reports, conflict of interest forms and a donation from the Annenberg Foundation to the foundation.
Chung has been on administrative leave since January after a previous district audit raised questions about the propriety of some bonuses and perks paid to her. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has launched its own inquiry into allegations of forgery.
In a written response contained in the final audit, Chung said that Chapdelaine had been aware of all the payments and that she had personally witnessed him sign some of the contested checks.
Chung's attorney, Mark Geragos, said he disagreed with the audit findings. "To me, the audit is nothing more than a way to deflect criticism from the president."
Geragos argued that the "questionable" checks were not forgeries because Chapdelaine had authorized other employees to sign for him in his absence. In a letter to the district, an attorney with Geragos' firm wrote, "The entire audit report is thus immaterial and apparently is only designed to discredit Dr. Chung for some unknown reason, in spite of her excellent achievements on behalf of two charitable organizations."
The contested payments included a $22,000 annual bonus and $1,500 monthly car allowance not allowed by district policy, as well as $2,000 a month that Chung received to run a youth orchestra funded by the foundation on top of her contracted foundation salary of $113,460. The Times reported on those payments in February.
The handwriting experts who reviewed the contested checks concluded there were "no indications to suggest" they were signed by any of the four college employees Chapdelaine had authorized to sign checks for him. Geragos said the handwriting experts also had not opined that the signatures were Chung's, and that there was no indication that the auditors had asked the other employees if they signed the checks.
Chapdelaine, who has announced his intention to retire in a year, has faced criticism from the scandal. A faculty governing body issued a vote of no confidence in him last month, citing failures in oversight.
The former chair of the foundation board, Darryl Holter, stepped down amid the controversy. The foundation's new chairman, Randall Ely, said the organization has revamped its financial checks and balances since the issues surfaced, but said he could not comment on the audit's findings because they were inconclusive.
The audit called for more scrutiny of expenditures by the foundation's volunteer board and more oversight of the foundation by the college.
Miguel Santiago, president of the district's board of trustees, said the district is taking the matter seriously and he planned to call for the presidents of all nine colleges in the district to conduct annual audits of their foundations. Another trustee, Scott Svonkin, said he felt that Chapdelaine and the district had been lax in their oversight and that the district should be required to more carefully review the finances of all auxiliary organizations.
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