REDWOOD CITY — The president of a Daly City Filipino charity gambled away about $68,000 in donations that were supposed to go to people in need, according to a prosecutor.
Ruperto Reyes, 74, pleaded not guilty Thursday in San Mateo County Superior Court to a felony count of embezzlement for the money he took from the Luzon Visayas Mindanao Association of the Bay Area, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Reyes is out of custody on his own recognizance.
Prosecutors says Reyes and others founded the group in 2000 with the goal of raising money and donating it to worthy causes. Since then, they’ve collected about $73,000 and distributed about $5,000. The alleged theft came to light when earlier this year members of the group’s board asked Reyes to see the books. He kept putting them off until they finally went to the bank and realized the group only had $19 in its account, Wagstaffe said. They immediately confronted Reyes.
“He apologized and promised to pay the money back,” said Wagstaffe. “He gave them $2,500 and promptly stopped returning their phone calls.”
Further investigation showed that he used the group’s ATM card, which had been issued in his name, 188 times at the San Mateo Jockey Club, a horse betting operation, prosecutors said.
Efforts to reach Reyes were not immediately successful.
Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335. Follow him at Twitter.com/melvinreport.
