WASHINGTON - The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recently discovered that dozens of contribution checks - some for as much as $25,000 - were diverted from its coffers to a private bank account, officials said yesterday.
The apparent theft from the committee, which raises funds to help elect Democratic senators, totaled about $350,000 and is under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office here. All but $10,000 has been recovered.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee uncovered the missing money in time to get it back and use it in the November elections, said spokesman Brad Woodhouse.
After internal auditors discovered a discrepancy in October, the U.S. Capitol Police uncovered a local bank account where the checks had been deposited.
The account was set up by someone using the name of Roger Chiang, the campaign committee's director of constituency outreach until he was fired in mid-October. Chiang's home address and Social Security number were on the account, Democratic officials said.
But Chiang, who could not be reached for comment yesterday because he was on his honeymoon, maintains that he is the victim of identity theft, said his brother, John.
The Los Angeles Times is a Tribune Publishing newspaper.
