An attorney for CapRadio’s former general manager Jun Reina is denying that his client stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NPR member station, as alleged by CapRadio in a civil lawsuit filed in December. The station is seeking at least $900,000 in damages from Reina.
CapRadio alleges Reina stole the money from the station to “secretly enrich himself.” The suit also alleges he opened corporate credit cards and gave himself exclusive access over them, paying for family vacations, mortgage payments and more than $100,000 in improvements on his home in West Sacramento.
Along with opening secret credit cards, CapRadio claims he transferred more than $370,000 in station funds to his personal accounts from 2017 until his resignation in 2023. The station’s lawsuit says Reina’s “thefts may have extended even farther back in time.”
Reina’s attorney Adam Ramirez responded in a five-page court filing on March 5. Ramirez wrote that his client denies he made any mistakes, but says that “if an error was made,” it was “made in good faith and unintentional.”
“This answering defendant made an appropriate correction, repair or replacement or other remedy of goods and services once notified of the error,” the filing states. It does not provide any details about corrections or remedies.
Ramirez did not respond to requests for comment.
CapRadio’s attorneys declined to comment on the lawsuit or Reina’s response.
Reina's filing also lays out a list of other arguments for the defense, including CapRadio’s “failure to mitigate damages,” claiming the station’s lack of oversight led to the problem. Furthermore, the response states CapRadio has “unclean hands,” so it doesn’t have standing in this case.
Reina’s defense team also contends the causes of actions listed in CapRadio’s lawsuit are past the statute of limitations.
The document cites five parts of the California Code of Civil Procedure - Sections 335.1, 338, 338.1, 340 and 343 - related to taking actions in civil lawsuits. They list statutes of limitation ranging from one year to five years. CapRadio’s lawsuit alleges Reina’s thefts took place up until his resignation, less than two years ago.
A case management conference is scheduled for April 21 in Yolo County Superior Court. CapRadio filed the lawsuit in this court because Reina allegedly used station funds to improve his home located in Yolo County.
Attorneys for CapRadio said in their lawsuit they believe Reina may leave the state with proceeds from his residence, which was put up for sale last year. Earlier this year, CapRadio requested the home be put in a trust. According to Zillow, the home is no longer for sale.
CapRadio reporters asked station leadership if Reina paid back any of the alleged stolen funds.
“CapRadio continues to pursue all avenues necessary to ensure that there is proper remediation and accountability for past actions that have impacted the station,” Chris Bruno, CapRadio’s chief marketing and revenue officer, wrote in an email response. “Our community has stood by us and deserves nothing less.”
Disclosure: This story was reported and written by Politics Editor Chris Nichols, Editor Sally Longenecker and Producer Sarit Laschinsky. It was edited by Senior Producer Jen Picard and Reporter Gerardo Zavala.
Following NPR’s protocol for reporting on itself, no CapRadio corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted or broadcast.
You can read our independent ongoing coverage of financial issues at Capital Public Radio here.
Editor’s note: CapRadio is licensed to Sacramento State, which is also an underwriter.
