GOP Audit Finds Former Treasurer Stole Over $725,000

June 13, 2008 10:34 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - An audit by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has found that the GOP lost about $725,000 in a six-year period beginning 2001 to former treasurer Chris Ward.

The audit was released Thursday after four months of investigation. It found that Ward used fake financial reports from 2002 to 2006 to steal the money. The National Republican Senatorial Committee also lost $28,000 to Ward, who was appointed treasurer of the NRCC in 2003 but has worked in the committee's accounting office for more than 12 years.

NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said the committee "will never know the full extent" of Ward's embezzlement, but added that "this is more of behind us than in front of us," according to Politico.

"Misappropriated funds and related accounting irregularities took nearly five months for financial experts to unravel, diverting precious financial resources and time that would otherwise have been devoted to our main job of electing Republicans to Congress," he is also quoted by The Hill as saying.