A settlement could soon be reached in Capital Public Radio’s ongoing civil lawsuit against former General Manager Jun Reina.
Attorneys for both the public media station and Reina, identified in the case as Fidias “Jun” Reina, said during a conference in Yolo County Superior Court on Monday that they are close to a deal.
CapRadio sued Reina last December, accusing the former GM of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in station funds for personal enrichment. Judge Timothy Fall said on Monday the discovery process in the case is estimated to stretch until next spring, if there’s no settlement.
Reina’s attorney Adam Ramirez mentioned the potential agreement, noting that those conversations are ongoing.
“Our settlement negotiations have been very fruitful,” Ramirez said. “I think we’re just about at the point where we might be able to make a deal in the case.”
Attorney Jonathan Hsieh, representing CapRadio, also confirmed both sides were approaching a settlement.
Ramirez also said Reina would not be able to respond to the discovery process due to a “parallel criminal investigation,” noting potential issues regarding the Fifth Amendment and the right against self-incrimination. “We’ve been dancing around that in our negotiations,” he said.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office last year confirmed to CapRadio it was investigating Reina in a criminal case but would not provide further details.
The next hearing date in the case was scheduled for April 27.
Lawsuit background
In its civil suit, CapRadio alleged Reina transferred over $370,000 in station funds to his personal accounts between 2017 and his resignation in 2023, and used corporate credit cards for personal expenses.
These included family plane tickets and vacations, golf course fees, college tuition for his children, home utilities and mortgage payments and personal groceries and alcohol, among other expenses.
Reina is also accused of using the credit cards to pay for more than $100,000 in improvements to his West Sacramento home. This property was put up for sale last year, but the listing was later pulled down.
CapRadio is seeking at least $900,000 in damages from Reina, and for the home to be put in a trust.
Reina was hired by CapRadio in 2007 as its chief financial officer. He added the role of chief operating officer in 2013, and was promoted in 2020 to executive vice president and general manager.
In a March filing, Ramirez said his client denies making any mistakes but added that “if an error was made,” it was “made in good faith and unintentional.”
The case also comes as CapRadio continues to reckon with a series of damaging financial audits and examinations released in 2023 and 2024. The reports investigated the station’s lack of financial controls under Reina’s leadership and that of Rick Eytcheson, who was CapRadio’s president and general manager from 2006 until retiring in 2020. Eytcheson then served as President Emeritus until 2023.
The station laid off 12% of its staff and canceled four long-running music programs in August 2023, weeks before the first audit was released.
The reports were commissioned by the California State University Chancellor’s Office and Sacramento State, which holds CapRadio’s broadcasting license.
Disclosure: This story was reported and written by CapRadio Senior Producer Sarit Laschinsky and Politics Editor Chris Nichols. It was edited by Editor Sally Longenecker.
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.
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