Former SeaWorld Manager Sentenced in Fake Company Embezzlement Scheme

SAN DIEGO, CA — A former manager for SeaWorld San Diego was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in May to embezzling more than $800,000 from the theme park through fake invoices he created using a sham company and fake name.

Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, known as Sebastian Jobin, 48, of San Diego, who has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in March in Dallas, Texas, because he was considered a flight risk, could have faced a maximum of 23 years in prison. In addition to time behind bars, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller ordered Jobin-Reyes to pay $818,000 in restitution to SeaWorld, $177,000 to a friend whose identity he stole, and more than $200,000 to the IRS for underpaid taxes.

"Today’s sentencing is a reminder to those who engage in financial fraud and identity theft, that the U.S. Secret Service and its law enforcement partners will actively investigate and pursue prosecution of those who violate the trust of their employers for their own personal gain," said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge David Murray.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego, Jobin-Reyes used his management position to approve payments from SeaWorld to his fake company, "SJ Merchandise." He also created an alias along with a dummy email account he used to correspond with SeaWorld officials, pretending to be SJ Merchandise owner “John Caldwell.”

In fact, prosecutors said, Jobin-Reyes used his work computer to generate the fraudulent invoices, for disposable goods like “wildlife animal bookmarks,” “sea creature rings,” and “purple shiny ornaments” that were difficult to trace or verify in SeaWorld’s inventory. Over time, his invoices grew larger, so that by 2015 he was requesting fraudulent payments for amounts just under the $10,000 threshold that would have triggered further review by his bosses at SeaWorld.

Also see:

• Former SeaWorld Manager Admits Embezzling $818K in Fake Invoice Scheme
• Former SeaWorld Manager Accused in Embezzlement Scheme

SeaWorld eventually discovered the fraud, but only after Jobin-Reyes had pocketed more than $800,000 in payments to his fake company over more than eight years, prosecutors said.

Jobin-Reyes’ fraud did not stop with SeaWorld, according to court documents. He also used the sham merchandise company to cheat the IRS by claiming fake expenses on his tax returns, prosecutors said. By pretending that his business was underwater with hefty losses, Jobin-Reyes reduced the amount of taxes he claimed he owed, and underpaid more than $200,000 for tax years 2010 through 2014. In fact, none of the claimed expenses were true, because SJ Merchandise didn’t conduct any real business at all, prosecutors said.

In addition to the fabricated “John Caldwell,” prosecutors said Jobin-Reyes also stole the identity of a real person — his friend and former roommate who had once given Jobin-Reyes access to his personal information. Jobin-Reyes convinced his friend to open business banking and credit accounts, using the friend’s social security number and good credit, then used those accounts to receive and disburse the illegal proceeds from SeaWorld. He then went on to use the friend’s social security number to open several new credit cards, without the friend's knowledge. Jobin-Reyes admitted that he left his friend with unpaid and overdue balances of at least $177,000.

“Business insiders who abuse the trust of their employers and the community should be warned that they face serious consequences and will be brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy. “We are dedicated to protecting our local businesses, citizens and taxpayers from corruption and deceit.”

Jobin used the money he stole from SeaWorld, the taxpayers and his friend’s credit cards to fund a lavish lifestyle he could not otherwise afford, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Records show he spent the proceeds on cruises, plane tickets, hotels, restaurants and shopping. In the year preceding his arrest, according to court documents, he traveled around the country from New Orleans to Hawaii, spending the stolen money. He even arranged to have credit cards printed for his family members, secretly racking up more debt on his friend’s credit, prosecutors said.

“As today’s sentencing of Mr. Jobin-Reyes demonstrates, defrauding your employer, your friend and deceiving the IRS results in serious consequences, both financially and in terms of one’s freedom,” stated IRS-Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando. “IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to working with our law enforcement partners, as well as with members of the local community, to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who commit fraud for their own personal financial gain.”

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