The FBI And DA's Office Are Investigating The Stadium Scandals

Will Huntsberry, the Voice of San Diego

December 20, 2023

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Diego County District Attorney’s office are both investigating a series of stadium and venue scandals, recently revealed by Voice of San Diego.

Voice’s investigation has centered on a system of labor exchange not well known to the public. All across the country, nonprofit groups provide workers — who are supposed to be volunteers — to staff concession stands at major venues. The nonprofits get to keep roughly 10 percent of the take, in theory, to fuel their mission.

But Voice found one supposed nonprofit — claiming to support girls’ softball — didn’t do charity work of any kind. It raked in, at minimum, hundreds of thousands of dollars while operating in Petco Park for nine years and also at Snapdragon Stadium. Further reporting showed other supposed nonprofits paid people under the table and below minimum wage to work at most of the major venues around the region — including Snapdragon, Petco, North Island Credit Union Amphitheater, Sports Arena and the former Qualcomm Stadium.

These groups provide significant levels of staffing to the venues.

The FBI’s investigation began after Voice exposed Chula Vista Fast Pitch, the phantom nonprofit, in August, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

FBI officials declined to answer any questions.

“As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation,” wrote Kira Boyd, an FBI spokeswoman, in an email.

The District Attorney’s Workplace Justice Unit is also looking into the matter, an investigator with the unit confirmed.

The workplace justice team “prosecutes unfair business practices, wage and hour violations, payroll tax evasion, wage theft and labor trafficking cases,” according to the District Attorney’s website.

The supposed nonprofit groups that bring in would-be volunteers, essentially, function as a staffing service for venues across the region — albeit one that pays off the books and below minimum wage.

One group providing staffing at Chula Vista’s amphitheater and Petco Park is called Lov4Jaro. It’s operated by Liliana Osuna. Lov4Jaro — unlike Chula Vista Fast Pitch — is an up-to-date, registered nonprofit. It is meant to honor the legacy of a man named Jorge Alberto Rocha Osuna, who was murdered in a road rage incident.

But Jorge Osuna’s siblings say Lov4Jaro is misusing its charitable status.

“It’s not in any way a nonprofit. It’s doing concessions and paying people under the table. It’s running a catering business,” Chris Osuna, who runs a separate nonprofit dedicated to his brother’s memory, previously said. “She can’t get people out there, so she pays people X amount of dollars, but it’s very minimal.”

Venmo receipts show Lilianna Osuna paid people anywhere from $40 to $70 after various concerts at the amphitheater.

Lilianna Osuną previously told me these payments are meant to be a “donation.”

Linda Rosenthal, a lawyer for the For Purpose Law Group, previously said, in general, that’s not how donations work.

Nonprofit groups can pay people a small stipend and reimburse volunteers for expenses, but they shouldn’t be paying in cash, in any amount that is even close to minimum wage.

“The bottom line is, if you’re calling someone a ‘volunteer,’ they really need to be a volunteer,” said Rosenthal. “If you’re giving them a stipend, it really has to be not very much.”

Paying people off the books and below minimum wage violates multiple laws, lawyers told Voice.

It’s a tax violation when would-be employers don’t take out taxes for an employee. And it’s a labor violation when they pay below minimum wage.

It’s unclear how far the parameters of federal and local investigations currently extent.

Delaware North runs concessions for the Padres at Petco Park. Officials for Delaware North and the Padres both said they had not been contacted by law enforcement.

San Diego State University officials also said they had not been contacted in regard to the ongoing investigations.

Legends Hospitality runs concessions for Live Nation, which owns Chula Vista’s amphitheater. Officials for neither company were immediately available to comment.

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