“We did have cold storage setup for VRC, however in this instance, due to an error for which only we can be accountable, we had transferred far fewer coins than was required, resulting in a large proportion of coins being left in the hot wallet.”

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-protected-vericoin-stolen-mintpal-wallet-breach/

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While I do not see this as a "good" explanation, it is their explanation.    I sadly see it as a way they were earning interest off of other peoples coins, but who knows.