Treasurer says PIDCI not in deficit, has $5,301 in cash; Violeta McGough arrested (Part 2)

red line

red line

Nora Galleros (left) with former PIDCI presidential assistant Vivian Velasco. The FilAm photo

Nora Galleros (left) with former PIDCI presidential assistant Vivian Velasco. The FilAm photo

By Cristina DC Pastor

The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), tasked with mounting the biggest parade for Filipinos outside of the Philippines, has a total of $5,301.76 in its bank. The positive balance was bolstered by a loan of $13,000 from former president Fe Martinez, according to a financial report prepared by treasurer Nora Galleros.

“We’re in good financial shape,” she said in her Treasurer’s Report made at the start of the October 7 PIDCI election. She stressed the report is still unaudited.

Galleros, a board member at PIDCI, has a private practice as a CPA. She is a managing partner at Galleros Koh LLP, an accounting firm with offices at Penn Plaza in New York City.

Based on Galleros’s report, covering the period from March 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017, PIDCI incurred total expenses or disbursements of $166,511.71. It had total receivables or income at $171,813.53.

The report showed a loan of $13,000 from former president Fe Martinez. The loan turned the deficit into a surplus of $5,301. Without the loan, PIDCI is supposed to have a deficit of $7,698.18.

“Cash on hand is $5,301,” she declared.

Some PIDCI members were surprised to learn that the organization is actually in the black.

“They’ve always been telling us that we are facing a deficit,” said one board member. “All of a sudden, no more deficit?”

Violeta Manarang McGough faces 1 count of wire fraud. Facebook photo

Violeta Manarang McGough faces 1 count of wire fraud. Facebook photo

The FilAm asked Galleros why PIDCI had to borrow. “Because we need money,” she replied.

As for the missing cash, uncovered at the start of President Prospero Lim’s term, she said she could not talk about it because she came on board only in March, after then treasurer Violeta Manarang McGough resigned for health reasons.

“I cannot speak about it,” she said. “There is an ongoing audit.”

Meanwhile, a Department of Justice press release states that former PIDCI treasurer Violeta Manarang McGough was arrested October 5 and charged with allegedly defrauding her employer of approximately $900,000.

Says the statement, “Violeta McGough, 55, of Bergenfield, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud.” She was arrested at her home in the morning and was scheduled to appear in the afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court.

According to the statement, “From 2008 through October 2015, McGough allegedly made numerous fraudulent accounting entries to steal funds that her employer collected as insurance premiums…McGough repeatedly used her access to Victim’s (Company 1’s) books to divert a portion of those payments to her personal use.”

The single wire fraud count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the statement.

The news came as a surprise to the Filipino American community. The DoJ statement was published October 5, but spread throughout the community around the time of the PIDCI election two days later.

McGough was an active member of PIDCI and treasurer for six years until she resigned in February. Her name has been linked to persistent reports of missing funds at PIDCI. When the DoJ statement came out, many thought she was arrested over that issue.

Part 1: Ner Martinez wins PIDCI election marred by calls to 911 and howls of protest

© 2017 The FilAm



2 Comments

  1. It was a big shocking news to me. Not over the PIDCI missing funds but this arrest and the $900,000.00 missing money from her company. I ask, WHAT HAPPENED TO HER? Why did she do it? The opportunity was there but I cannot give a good reason for her doing it. I am so sorry this happened. I know her personally in the social community but not deeply. I feel sorry for her beautiful daughters.

  2. […] its hands off accusations it did not file tax returns for four years, stating its former treasurer, Violeta Manarang-McGough, had been delinquent in filing returns for the period from 2013 to […]

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: