Top Fund-Raiser Surrenders in Forgery Case

The former chief fund-raiser for Retinitis Pigmentosa International was arrested Friday on suspicion of forgery in an investigation into the loss of up to $50,000 from the Woodland Hills-based charity’s bank accounts, Los Angeles police reported.

Detective Anthony DiRuscio said Daniel J. Sonners of Malibu walked into the department’s Van Nuys station Friday and surrendered to detectives investigating the disappearance of checks and money belonging to the eye-disease research charity.

Police said Sonners, whose age was thought to be 29 but who charity officials said claimed to be 39 when he was hired two months ago, was arrested on one count of forgery and released on $1,000 bail after refusing to talk to detectives about the missing checks and money.

He could not be reached for comment Friday.

DiRuscio said police had recovered 12 charity checks totaling about $41,000 that had been forged and cashed at San Fernando Valley banks. The investigation was continuing, he said.

“The investigation established he passed at least one of the missing checks,” DiRuscio said. “There are possibly more checks out. We are not sure if we have all the missing checks yet.”

The money missing from the 15-year-old charity’s bank accounts came almost solely from donations, charity officials said.

Helen Harris, founder of the group, said checks totaling $50,553 were apparently forged and the charity’s bank accounts looted while she was on vacation earlier this month. She said her son, Robert Harris, the charity’s operations manager, made an unsuccessful attempt to confront Sonners on Monday and hold him in his office until police arrived. She said Sonners pushed his way out of the office. Police said Sonners’ whereabouts were not known until he turned himself in Friday.

‘Uphill Battle’

Harris said the loss has crippled the charity, leaving it with only $2,600.

“It is going to be an uphill battle just to raise that $50,000 again,” she said. “But we shall overcome.”

She said publicity about the charity’s loss has brought in new donations this week, including 150 tickets to two Los Angeles Pops concerts which the charity will be able to sell.

“There is some help coming in,” she said. “We need to keep the research going.”