SJ-Area School Board Member Accused Of Stealing Public Money: DA

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Charges of grand theft and perjury have been filed against a longtime San Jose school board member, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Friday. John Lindner, a member of the Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education since 2004, has also been charged for suspected violations of the Political Reform Act.

Prosecutors allege Lindner, 55, spent money raised for a public school bond measure on himself, then tried to hide his actions on campaign disclosure filings that are required by law.

Allegedly, Lindner spent $16,000 of the campaign’s money on airline tickets, lumber and other personal expenses. He is also suspected of loaning $12,000 of the campaign money to a relative, which was later paid back, prosecutors say.

“Aggravating matters is that nearly all of the money donated in support of the school bond measure came from developers, contractors, and architects,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney John Chase said. “While at the same time the defendant, who kept much of this money for his own use, was a member of the school board that makes decisions about how the bond money will ultimately be spent.”

The DA's Office says Lindner turned himself in around noon Thursday and was released on $35,000 bail.

Here is what the DA's Office said in a statement Friday about the allegations against Lindner:

"An investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) showed that Lindner was the treasurer in control of a campaign fund for an ultimately successful 2010 bond measure intended to improve aging schools in the east side district. After the measure passed, Lindner used the remaining campaign funds to make personal purchases of lumber and travel. He also withdrew cash and transferred money to his personal bank account.

"By July 2012, the trustee had bled the account almost dry. However, Lindner continued to file
periodic disclosure forms reporting that the fund still had $13,000.

"In 2016, he filed a final report, terminating the campaign committee by claiming that more than
$13,000 was distributed in amounts less than $100 to “Unnamed Civic Donation Recipients.” This
unusual report caught the attention of the Registrar of Voters, who reported it to the FPPC. The
FPPC fined Lindner after it determined the report was false and that Lindner had stolen the money."

Lindner is scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges Jan. 19.

If convicted, according to the DA's Office, Lindner faces jail time and a large fine. Each of the misdemeanor counts is punishable by a fine of up to three times the amount of money the defendant failed to report properly, which means that a total fine could exceed $250,000.

Reached Friday, Yelitza Pena, spokeswoman for the Franklin-McKinley School District, told Patch: "The District will not be commenting on this matter."

Patch was not able to immediately reach Lindner for comment, but will update this post should he provide a statement.

Main image via Shutterstock