Council questions Chinese American Association finances as city moves Supermoon Festival in-house

West Covina City Council members on Sept. 2 pressed the Chinese American Association of West Covina (CAWC) for detailed financial records after members presented revenue and expense figures that councilmembers said did not match CAWC’s tax filings. Acting City Manager said the city will take operational control of the city’s Supermoon Festival and move the event to City Hall for one day while staff reviews costs.

The confrontation came after CAWC representatives — founder Angel Chu, secretary Daniel Cao and accountant Jerry Lang — presented the group’s history, activities and a multi-year summary of revenues, vendor fees and donations. Councilman John Gutierrez (speaking as a councilmember) said the numbers shown at the meeting did not match the organization’s IRS Form 990 and state filings and asked why CAWC had not produced bank statements, sponsorship receipts and vendor reports that the council had requested previously.

CAWC’s secretary said the association’s president was out of state and that some records are on the president’s computer; CAWC’s accountant said he assembled the presentation but would need to confer with…