Harvard Club Considers Suit Against Officer

The Harvard Club of Hong Kong has called a meeting of its members for early February to decide whether to take legal action against its former president.

Steve Chik, who agreed to step down as head of the club last March, has allegedly diverted $500,000 in club funds to companies with which he is associated.

"It's taken an awful long time to get around to finally dealing with this", said Sabrina Y.T. Fang, the club's former secretary. "He has defrauded the club and stolen their money and been quite unrepentant about it".

The alleged scheme came to light last December, when a large donation to Harvard seemed to have disappeared.

York Liao, who holds master's and doctorate degrees from the University, had pledged one million dollars to Harvard, to be paid in three equal installments.

Chik allegedly convinced Liao to give him money to the Harvard Club of Hong Kong Foundation, which would then pass the money along to the University, according to John P. Reardon Jr. '60, executive director of the Harvard Alumni Association who nominally oversees the 160 Harvard clubs world-wide.

But the money never made it.

"When it came time for the second payment, [Liao] said he hadn't noted any particular reaction from us on the first payment," said Reardon. "We found absolutely nothing coming to us."

The University began to investigate, trying to track down Chik to find out what happened to the money, but he was evasive.

"He was impossible to reach," Reardon said.

When Chik was finally tracked down weeks later, club officials said he refused to surrender club assets, the only complete membership list, various financial records and the sole key to the club's post office box, where bank statements arrive.

Eventually, Chik wrote the University a check for $385,000, $52,000 more than the missing Liao payment, Reardon said. He said he had no idea why Chik paid the additional sum.

But while Harvard has recovered its missing money, the Hong Kong club still has not. The money is in a fund at Harvard while officials decide what to do with it.

Chik believes he should be compensated for his work as president of the club, Reardon said, but no arrangement had been worked out in advance.

Former Treasurer Yun K. "Edward" Wong told The Crimson last August that he did not review the club's monthly bank statements and did not know of Liao's donation. What is more, Wong consented to Chik's request to transfer moneyfrom the club's savings account to a time depositaccount.

In the new account, Wong was even less likelyto know of Chik's financial maneuvers. But Fangsaid Wong, as well as other club officers, wasunwilling to monitor Chik's financial dealings.

"These people are all friends of Steve Chik,"she said, adding that Wong was an employee of thethen-president.

"It's not in their best interest to see actiontaken against Steve Chik," she said.

Pressure in the local media, combined with theresults of an Ernst and Young audit, forced theissue, however. But while the club decides whetherto prosecute its former president, Harvard willkeep largely out of the picture, according toReardon.

The dispute seems to have come about as aresult of the relatively loose relationshipbetween Harvard and its clubs, whose bi-laws varysignificantly.

"In all the years the clubs have been going,somebody could have walked off with a king'sransom," Reardon said, "But this is the first Iknow of."

"It's a very, very sad situation," Reardonsaid. But a change in policy to tighten theUniversity's control over the clubs would result,Reardon said, "in 160 little wars.

In the new account, Wong was even less likelyto know of Chik's financial maneuvers. But Fangsaid Wong, as well as other club officers, wasunwilling to monitor Chik's financial dealings.

"These people are all friends of Steve Chik,"she said, adding that Wong was an employee of thethen-president.

"It's not in their best interest to see actiontaken against Steve Chik," she said.

Pressure in the local media, combined with theresults of an Ernst and Young audit, forced theissue, however. But while the club decides whetherto prosecute its former president, Harvard willkeep largely out of the picture, according toReardon.

The dispute seems to have come about as aresult of the relatively loose relationshipbetween Harvard and its clubs, whose bi-laws varysignificantly.

"In all the years the clubs have been going,somebody could have walked off with a king'sransom," Reardon said, "But this is the first Iknow of."

"It's a very, very sad situation," Reardonsaid. But a change in policy to tighten theUniversity's control over the clubs would result,Reardon said, "in 160 little wars.