Former SeaWorld manager sentenced for embezzlement

Former SeaWorld San Diego manager Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, called "Sebastian John," was sentenced yesterday (September 23) to 30 months in prison for embezzling $818,000 while he worked at the park.

According to court records, he made phony invoices for a sham company he owned called "SJ Merchandise." As a manager, he approved the payments that SeaWorld would pay. He used his work computer to fabricate the fraudulent invoices for goods such as "sea creature rings." He had embezzled more than $800,000 before SeaWorld discovered the fraud.

He didn't stop with SeaWorld. He also used the phony company to cheat the Internal Revenue Service. At the time of sentencing, he owed more than $200,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.