Newport Beach Ex-Campaign Manager Gets One Year For Embezzling Funds

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — On Tuesday, the former volunteer treasurer for an Orange County congressman was sentenced to a year in jail for his $300,000 embezzlement from the lawmaker and a previous employer, the courts said.

The Newport Beach resident, 46-year-old Jack Wenpo Wu, had faced up to four years and eight months in prison, however over the objections of prosecutors, he was sentenced to a year in custody. That could amount to home confinement if the sheriff approves it, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche.

The defendant accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino, but the judge later recused himself and revealed that the defendant's attorney, Paul Meyer, had represented the jurist in the past.

“We appreciate the careful analysis and extraordinary circumstances that made probation the right call," Paul S. Meyer, attorney for Jack Wu, said.

Mr. Wu began restitution before the charges were filed, and has fully accepted responsibility according to Meyer.

According to his attorney, Wu voluntarily took over the treasurer duties for the Rohrabacher Committee from a professional firm in 2004.

According to Wu's attorney, extenuating circumstances led to bad judgement on Wu's part.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald handed down Wu's punishment, which also includes five years of formal probation.

Probation Department officials recommended a prison sentence and Labreche argued for the same.

"I thought it was worth state prison," Labreche said. "I think it's counter to public policy to let someone serve a jail sentence at home. I don't think it's much of a deterrent to future crimes."

The prosecutor said he made a plea deal of five years in prison to Wu.

Meyer said his client "began restitution before the charges were filed and has fully accepted responsibility."
Wu "voluntarily took over the treasurer duties" for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, from a "professional firm in 2004," Meyer said. "That earlier firm billed (Rohrabacher) an average of $2,400 per month in an election year and $550 per month plus expenses in an off year."

When Wu "took over 11 years ago, he worked without pay." Had he been paid at the same rate as the prior firm, "he would have received over $188,000," Meyer said.

Wu stole about $238,000 from Rohrabacher's campaign re-election committee, Labreche said.

Wu began volunteering as treasurer of the Huntington Beach Republican's committee in 2004, and his duties included paying taxes, filing Federal Election committee reports and overseeing the campaign's bank accounts.

Wu also embezzled from Russell Fischer Inc., a firm that hired him as a controller in 2008. He was earning $70,000 annually at that job until March 30, 2012, when he became an independent contractor earning $1,000 monthly, Labreche said.

Wu set it up so he could keep collecting his annual salary as well as the independent contractor pay. From June 2012 to September 2013, Wu collected $71,000 in pay not owed to him, Labreche said.

Wu also collected an additional $12,000 in payments from the firm in the summer of 2013, the prosecutor said. Russell Fischer Inc. fired Wu in September 2013, when the embezzlement was discovered, but he agreed to pay it back, Labreche said.

Wu siphoned off money from Rohrabacher's committee to pay back the money to RFI.

"He robbed Peter to pay Paul," Labreche said.

The embezzlement from Rohrabacher's coffers came to light when his wife, who is also his campaign manager, tried to pay a bill with a debit card and was told there wasn't enough money in the account, Labreche said.

In June, Rohrabacher's campaign committee filed a complaint with prosecutors about the embezzlement. Attorney Charles Herbert Bell Jr. told City News Service then that when the lawmaker's wife called the bank about the rejected charge, she was informed there was $187 in the campaign's account.

Wu could have faced up to 20 years and four months in prison had he been convicted at trial, according to Labreche.

The reasons for siphoning funds were the result of bad judgement according to Wu's attorney.

"Tragic family medical hardships forced him into overwhelming debt and he began to pay himself without permission," Meyer said. "He confessed, apologized and cooperated. He is deeply grateful for the opportunity to make amends."

Patch File Photo: OCDA