A Sacramento Superior Court judge granted Jun Reina, Capital Public Radio’s former general manager, permission to travel for a family vacation — overruling prosecutors’ objection — as he faces charges for misappropriating more than one million dollars from the radio station.
Reina faces embezzlement, fraud and grand theft charges in connection to what prosecutors described as a multi-year scheme to finance luxury international travel, home renovations and paying for his kids’ college tuition. Capital Public Radio is a NPR-affiliate licensed to Sacramento State.
Reina did not appear Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court for his court appearance. Judge David Bonilla granted Reina’s attorney permission to appear on his behalf.
Stockton-based attorney Mary Ann Bird said her client is traveling from June 6 to June 12 for a “family vacation.” She declined to say where Reina is going when asked by a reporter.
He has surrendered his passports, and he traveled while he was under investigation from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, even informing the investigator on the case of his journeys, Bird said.
“He does not pose a flight risk,” she added.
Return to court in June
Prosecutor David Bass said instead Reina does pose “some” flight risk, though he was not challenging Bird’s assertions.
Bonilla granted Reina to travel, and allowed him to appear over Zoom for his court date. Reina must offer proof he is back in California, Bonilla said.
The attorneys will be back in court June 17.
Reina’s conduct at CapRadio had been questioned for years prior to his January arrest. He posted his 200,000 bail and is no longer in custody.
In 2024, a forensic examination delving into CapRadio’s finances linked a credit card under Reina’s name to at least $460,800 spent on international travel, fine dining and luxury goods. The analyst behind the examination could not find reciepts or expense reports explaining each purchase.
Reina became CapRadio’s general manager after he spent more than a decade at the station. He first joined the broadcaster in 2007 as its chief financial officer and ascended to the top position in 2020.
He left the station in 2023 just before CapRadio embarked on deep layoffs and programming cuts.
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Ishani Desai is a government watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.