Sebastian Jobin, 47, pleaded guilty May 5 to wire fraud in an elaborate embezzlement of $818,000 from SeaWorld where he worked as a manager.
Jobin is also known as the producer of two gay comedic movies. He made 29th & Gay, a comedy about a gay man turning 29 in 2005, and Ready OK, another gay comedy in 2008.
He also pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return when he didn’t report his illegal earnings. He faces a maximum sentence of 23 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller on Friday ordered that Jobin remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail. Sentencing was set for Aug. 5. He was arrested March 12 in Dallas.
As part of his guilty pleas, Jobin also admitted he took advantage of a friend by committing identity theft and causing his friend to be $177,000 in debt through credit card purchases.
Jobin arranged for credit cards to be made in the names of his new husband, his mother and brother, who were not aware of the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Jobin created over 100 fraudulent invoices on his company computer for a sham business called SJ Merchandise which only sold items to SeaWorld. Bank records showed the firm never had any expenses for supplies or merchandise.
The invoices listed deliveries of merchandise such as “sea creature rings,” and “purple shiny ornaments,” but only Jobin was listed as receiving the items at SeaWorld.
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said Jobin underpaid his taxes by $200,000 from 2010 to 2014.
“We are dedicated to protecting our local businesses, citizens and taxpayers from corruption,” said Duffy in a statement. “Business insiders who abuse the trust of their employers and the community will be held accountable and brought to justice.”
Duffy said the stolen money was used for plane tickets, hotels, restaurants, shopping and groceries. He traveled around the country to New Orleans and Hawaii after being suspended at SeaWorld in January 2015.
SeaWorld investigators found his cell phone linked to the sham company and the names of himself and his former roommate listed as co-owners with the California Secretary of State. The company’s address was listed as Jobin’s residence in Mission Hills.
Jobin started working for SeaWorld in 1997. He was responsible for planning and budgeting special events. Most of the invoices were for under $10,000, which is a threshold that would have received greater scrutiny.
His friend was unaware that Jobin had credit cards in his name. Jobin stopped making minimum payments to those cards in 2016.
He is charged under his full legal name of Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, but he is known professionally as Sebastian Jobin.
“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,” said Aimee Schabilion, the acting special agent.
