Ex-treasurer of GOP congressional committee admits embezzling more than $844,000
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Friday, September 3, 2010; 6:12 PM
A former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee admitted in court Friday that he stole more than $844,000 from the NRCC and several other political fundraising committees.
Christopher J. Ward, 41, formerly of Bethesda, pleaded guilty in federal court in the District to interstate transportation of stolen property. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will seek a 37-month prison term and Ward will have to pay back his victims.
Ward, once a trusted figure in Republican circles who had served as treasurer for 83 GOP committees in a decade, funneled the money from committee coffers over seven years, according to the plea agreement. Some of the cash went to mortgage payments and remodeling and landscaping at his Bethesda home, authorities said in court documents filed in 2008.
"You came up with a scheme to steal money from both the NRCC and the other committees who were your clients?" U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly asked Ward in court Friday.
"Yes," Ward said.
Between 2001 and 2007, the judge continued, "You stole approximately $844,718?"
"Correct, your honor," Ward answered.
Ward, who also ran a business helping political candidates and committees comply with Federal Election Commission regulations, skimmed money from the NRCC and other clients, according to court papers.
The bulk of the stolen cash - about $670,000 - was taken from the NRCC. Groups including the Committee to Re-Elect Vito Fosella, Bowling for Our Majority Party and Pennsylvania for a Republican Congress also were targeted, according to court papers.
Much of the scheme centered around fundraising for the President's Dinner, an annual gala that featured then-President George W. Bush as the keynote speaker. From 2001 to 2006, Ward was treasurer for the event, which was staged by the NRCC and its Senate counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Ward shifted NRCC money to President's Dinner Committee accounts he controlled, then transferred the cash to his personal account, prosecutors said.
"Christopher J. Ward was trusted to oversee other people's money, and he violated that trust by diverting nearly $850,000 into his own pocket and creating fraudulent documentation to conceal the theft," Maryland's U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said.
Federal prosecutors in Maryland handled the case because federal prosecutor's office in the District recused itself.
As part of the plea agreement, Ward also is required to pay back his victims, and officials said he replaced $31,893 before he was charged. Kollar-Kotelly scheduled sentencing for Dec. 2.
