The former finance director at La Jolla Music Society has been sentenced to two years and five months in prison for stealing from the non-profit for a decade.
According to a news release by the Department of Justice, Chris Benavides is ordered to pay restitution of at least $650,000. Head of budgeting and human resources, Benavides frequently claimed various staff salary increases were not possible over many years due to budgetary constraints while simultaneously stealing an average of $65,000 a year for personal use.
"Mr. Benavides exploited his position of trust with the La Jolla Music Society by stealing month after month for over a decade,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in the release. “His greed and deception have had a lasting impact on this non-profit. Today, he has been held to account for his crimes.”
Grossman thanked the prosecution team and FBI agents for their excellent work on this case, the release reported.
According to the release, Benavidas improved his criminal tactics over the years. He regularly planned his stealing a year in advance by budgeting the amount he would secure for the year and tallying those expenses throughout several budget lines. By doing so, it ensured none of the expense lines would reveal discrepancies when analyzed by other staff, board members or auditors.
“La Jolla Music Society trusted their director of finance to safeguard the non-profit’s funds, but Benavides had a different plan,” Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office said in the release. “Instead, the defendant strategically calculated year over year to systematically steal from his employer, selfishly lining his own pockets. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to Benavides that he will be held accountable for his crimes, but more than that, it provides justice for the victims, so they can hopefully begin to move forward into a new chapter.”
