The Association of Public Radio Engineers has sued Shane Toven, its former treasurer, alleging that he misappropriated more than $100,000 during his tenure.
APRE says Toven used money from the trade group for his own personal use. The suit was filed on Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California; it was reported by Inside Radio and subsequently confirmed by Radio World.
The lawsuit asserts that Toven made payments directly from APRE’s Wells Fargo checking account, ranging from large payments for his personal credit card to small charges for meals at fast food restaurants.
“Between 2018 and 2022, Toven misappropriated $108,467.62 of APRE’s money in total,” the suit says.
On Dec. 14, Toven declined comment to Radio World. He has not yet filed a court response.
Toven is senior broadcast engineer at Educational Media Foundation and its K-Love and Air1 Networks. He is a frequent presence at industry trade shows and panels; he has written articles in Radio World and was editor of Radio magazine in 2014-15.
APRE told the court that in December 2022 it discovered small but personal charges to its checking account. “APRE made inquiries to Toven about the purchases and Toven did not respond.” The board discussed the matter in January 2023, after which its president again attempted to contact him about the expenditures without success.
“Shortly thereafter, [the] vice president of the board of APRE reviewed the bank statements from APRE’s checking account at Wells Fargo for several years prior. At that point, in early 2023, APRE learned that Toven had been misappropriating substantial sums of money from APRE’s checking account going all the way back to 2018.” It said these included “numerous four-figure payments from APRE’s checking account to Toven’s American Express card to satisfy Toven’s credit card debts with American Express.”
It said Toven was also sent two letters, asking for an explanation and informing him that APRE intended to pursue legal action, and that he did not respond.
APRE is a nonprofit that “exists to advance preserve the mission of public radio stations through education, outreach, regulatory support and the ongoing development and preservation of best engineering practices,” according to its website.
In April, APRE elected a new slate of officers during its annual PREC conference in Las Vegas, just prior to the NAB Show. A new treasurer, David Antoine, was elected, alongside a new president, vice president and secretary. Longtime President Victoria St. John left her post, having served in it since May 2018. The current president is Scott Hanley. He did not respond to a Radio World request for comment.
