SeaWorld Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing More than $1 Million

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily W. Allen (619) 546-9738

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – May 5, 2016

SAN DIEGO – Former SeaWorld San Diego manager Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, also known as  Sebastian Jobin, pleaded guilty in federal court today to wire fraud and tax charges, admitting he embezzled a total of $818,000 from SeaWorld over more than eight years.

Jobin-Reyes, who admitted orchestrating the scheme while working as a show producer at the marine mammal park, used his management position at SeaWorld to cause the park to pay more than 100 fake invoices from a sham company he secretly owned, called “SJ Merchandise.”

SeaWorld officials found the invoices to be suspicious because many of them were for amounts just under  $10,000 – a threshhold that if exceeded would trigger further scrutiny by senior management. According to court documents, SeaWorld also discovered that the invoiced items—for disposable goods such as “wildlife animal bookmarks,” “sea creature rings,” “purple shiny ornaments,” and “poinsettia in pots”—were never actually delivered to SeaWorld.

Investigators discovered that Jobin-Reyes had created the fake invoices using his work computer.  And he used aliases, including the made-up name “John Caldwell,” to conceal his ownership and control of the company when communicating with SeaWorld.

Jobin-Reyes admitted that he used the sham merchandise company to cheat the IRS by claiming fake expenses on his taxes. By pretending that his business suffered hefty losses, Jobin-Reyes reduced the amount of taxes he claimed he owed, and underpaid more than $200,000 in taxes he owed from 2010 through 2014. In fact, none of the claimed expenses were true, because SJ Merchandise didn’t conduct any real business.

As part of today’s plea, Jobin-Reyes also admitted that he took 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. He also 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.

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. He spent the proceeds on 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. 

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

U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge David Murray 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.  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.”

“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 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.”

Jobin-Reyes was arrested in Dallas, Texas in March 2016, and since arrest he has been detained in federal custody as a flight risk. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller is scheduled to revisit the detention order at a hearing at 11:00 am tomorrow.

Jobin-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Miller on August 5, 2016 at 9 a.m.

DEFENDANT

Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, 16CR0811-JM   Age: 47           San Diego, CA

CHARGES

Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343

Maximum Penalties: 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, $100 special assessment, restitution.

Filing False a Tax Return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1)

Maximum Penalties: 3 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, $100 special assessment, restitution.

AGENCIES

United States Secret Service

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation