Tag: J.J. Jelincic

CalPERS Desperate Response to Suit Over Illegal Secret Board Discussions and Other Abuses Seeks to Drag Case Out as Long As Possible

Mary Pat Campbell
CalPERS Desperate Response to Suit Over Illegal Secret Board Discussions and Other Abuses Seeks to Drag Case Out as Long As Possible

Excerpt:

Jelincic is challenging CalPERS’ dubious denials of two different Public Records Act requests he made. One focuses on impermissible secret board discussions shortly after Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng’s sudden resignation last August. The filing not only calls for these records to be made public but also demands that board members be released to discuss all the matters that CalPERS impermissibly covered in the August “closed session”. The second involves CalPERS’ continuing efforts to hide records showing how it overvalued real estate investments by $583 million. Yet CalPERS not only has said nary a peep about bogus valuations are larger than the total amount it was slotted to invest in a mothballed solo development project, 301 Capitol Mall, but it continues to publish balance sheets that include the inflated results.

We predicted that CalPERS would be be even more inclined than usual to fight these Public Records Act requests because the filing seeks remedies beyond release of the records. First, it requests that CalPERS be found to have violated the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. Second, to the extent that the judge rules that the board discussed items in closed session that should have been agendized for and deliberated in open session, the suit asks that board members be permitted to disclose the contents of those particular discussions in public. Third, the filing calls on the court to require that CalPERS make video and audio recordings of all closed sessions and keep them for five years (this is something that CalPERS currently does but this obligation is meant to shut the door to “the dog ate my disk” pretenses down the road.)

Author(s): Yves Smith

Publication Date: 3 June 2021

Publication Site: naked capitalism

CalPERS Shoots Itself in the Foot: Undermines Its Position in Insolent Letter Demanding JJ Jelincic Drop His Case Against Secrecy Abuses

Mary Pat Campbell
CalPERS Shoots Itself in the Foot: Undermines Its Position in Insolent Letter Demanding JJ Jelincic Drop His Case Against Secrecy Abuses

Excerpt:

As you can see below, CalPERS issued more ultimatums: drop the suit and provide what amounts to a document retention request to the board member that provided his notes to Jelincic.

And why should Jelincic withdraw his case? The argument is the legal version of a pratfall. Jelincic told he is liable for “aiding and abetting” an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by a a board member and interfering with CalPERS’ contract with said board member.

First “aiding and abetting” exists only in a criminal context. Even if there were actually a there there, please tell me what universe a prosecutor is going to saddle up to go after a CalPERS board member over a dispute over a clearly improperly noticed board meeting….and charge Jelincic too?

Second, the only fiduciary duty the board has is to beneficiaries. The reason California has such strong transparency laws is that its default is that secrecy is bad for the public and is not allowed unless there are compelling arguments on the other side.

Author(s): Yves Smith

Publication Date: 25 March 2021

Publication Site: naked capitalism

Controversy Still Follows CalPERS’ CIO Resignation

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/controversy-still-follows-calpers-cio-resignation/

Excerpt:

Now, a former CalPERS board member and investment officer has filed a lawsuit demanding that the pension system turn over transcripts, recordings, and notes from a closed-door board meeting held on August 17 allegedly to discuss the Meng affair. Meng resigned on August 5.

J.J. Jelincic’s lawsuit, filed on March 8 in Alameda County Superior Court in Northern California, said the board discussed Meng’s resignation at the meeting and violated the state’s open meetings law.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the CalPERS board’s Governance Committee is scheduled to discuss and possibly approve a plan that would require the full 13-member pension system board to be notified when a top system official is under internal investigation because of possible wrongdoing.

Author(s): Randy Diamond

Publication Date: 15 March 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

Former Board Member JJ Jelincic Sues CalPERS Over Illegal Secret Board Discussion After CIO Ben Meng’s Abrupt Departure and Hiding of Records Related to $583 Million Overstatement of Real Estate Assets

Mary Pat Campbell
Former Board Member JJ Jelincic Sues CalPERS Over Illegal Secret Board Discussion After CIO Ben Meng’s Abrupt Departure and Hiding of Records Related to $583 Million Overstatement of Real Estate Assets

Excerpt:

We seem to be returning to a semblance of the old normal, including CalPERS getting well-deserved public attention for its bad behavior, highlighted in a new lawsuit filed by former board member JJ Jelicic, which we’ve embedded at the end of this post. It’s short and very readable; slightly more than half the pages of the PDF are exhibits.

CalPERS under its general counsel Matt Jacobs has more and more openly been taking the position that it is above the law. A slapdown is long overdue.

Both of the matters the lawsuit targets are strong on legal and public interest grounds. We’ll get into a bit more detail below. The short overview is that they come out of sweeping and highly dubious denials of two different Public Records Act requests that Jelinicic submitted. One focuses on to impermissible secret board discussions shortly after then Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng’s sudden resignation last August. The second involves CalPERS’ continuing efforts to hide records showing how it came to overvalue real estate assets by $583 million. Yet CalPERS not only has said nary a peep about bogus valuations are larger than the total amount it was slotted to invest in a mothballed solo development project, 301 Capitol Mall, but it continues to publish balance sheets that include the inflated results.

Author(s): Yves Smith

Publication Date: 10 March 2021

Publication Site: naked capitalism