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

SAN DIEGO, CA: A former SeaWorld manager has admitted to stealing $818,000 from the San Diego theme park — and $200,000 in underpaid taxes from the U.S. government  — in a scheme that involved creating fake invoices from a sham company, federal authorities announced.

Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes — also known as Sebastian Jobin — pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in San Diego to embezzlement, wire fraud and tax charges, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.

"We are dedicated to protecting our local businesses, citizens and taxpayers from corruption," Duffy said. "Business insiders who abuse the trust of their employers and the community will be held accountable and brought to justice."

Federal prosecutors say the 47-year-old San Diego resident who worked as a show producer at the marine mammal park admitted to using his management position to orchestrate the scheme over the course of more than eight years — yielding payment from SeaWorld of more than 100 fraudulent invoices for merchandise from a non-existent company called "SJ Merchandise."

SeaWorld officials found the invoices to be suspicious because many of them were for amounts just under $10,000 — a threshold that if exceeded would trigger further scrutiny by senior management.

According to court documents, SeaWorld also discovered that the invoiced items — disposable goods such as "wildlife animal bookmarks," "sea creature rings," "purple shiny ornaments," and "poinsettia in pots" — were never delivered to the theme park.

Federal investigators say Jobin-Reyes created the fake invoices using his work computer.

When communicating with SeaWorld on behalf of his imaginary company, Jobin-Reyes used aliases, including the made-up name, John Caldwell, prosecutors say.

In addition to the embezzlement, Jobin-Reyes admitted using SJ Merchandise to cheat the IRS by claiming fake expenses on his taxes, according to the news release. By pretending that his business suffered hefty losses, he reduced the amount of taxes he claimed he owed, and underpaid more than $200,000 in taxes he owed from 2010 through 2014, federal investigators said.

In fact, prosecutors say, none of the claimed expenses were true, because SJ Merchandise didn’t conduct any real business.

“Mr. Jobin-Reyes abused his position as a manager at SeaWorld for his own selfish gain; when that was not enough, he went on to defraud the government by claiming false expenses and failing to report significant income on his tax return," said Aimee Schabilion, acting Special Agent in Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation. "IRS Criminal Investigation continues to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals like Jobin-Reyes who engage in fraud and deceit in order to satisfy their greed."

As part of Thursday’s plea, Jobin-Reyes also reportedly admitted taking advantage of a friend’s innocent efforts to help him get his sham business afloat. He 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, according to prosecutors.

Additionally, prosecutors say, he went on to use the friend’s social security number to open several new credit cards, without the friend's knowledge — leaving his friend with unpaid and overdue balances of at least $177,000.

Federal authorities said Jobin-Reyes used the money he stole from SeaWorld, taxpayers and his friend’s credit cards to fund a lavish lifestyle he could not otherwise afford — spending the proceeds on plane tickets, hotels, restaurants and shopping.

Jobin-Reyes was arrested in March in Dallas; since then, he has been detained in federal custody as a flight risk.

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, investigators said.

"I commend the special agents from the Secret Service and the IRS whose tireless work during this investigation resulted in today’s court action," said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge David Murray. "The Secret Service will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who commit these types of financial crimes against the citizens and local businesses of San Diego."

Jobin-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller on Aug. 5. He faces a maximum of 23 years imprisonment and $502,000 in restitution and fines.

On Friday, Judge Miller will decide whether Jobin-Reyes should remain in custody until his sentencing.

(Image via Shutterstock)