A man who pleaded guilty to taking thousands of dollars from immigrant families several years ago in San Diego got an earful from the judge who postponed his sentencing to give him time to pay back some of his victims.
“If you do not have every penny of that money, plan on going into custody, sir,” Superior Court Judge Polly Shannon asked Hector Benavente as he sat in a wheelchair beside his defense attorney. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," replied Benavente.
Although Benavente has made restitution of $10,000 to some of his victims, she continued Benavente’s sentencing to Sept. 25 so that he can make good on the $13,000 balance
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“Wheelchair or no wheelchair, injuries or no injuries, upcoming surgeries or no upcoming surgeries, you will go into custody for a year," Shannon told Benavente. "Do you understand that?”
Benavente again said yes.
NBC 7 Responds
Benavente didn’t show up at his original sentencing hearing on July 15, citing medical reasons. Shannon issued an arrest warrant and placed a hold on it to ensure he appeared for his sentencing on Aug. 13. At that hearing on Tuesday, she pulled the warrant and addressed the probation’s sentencing recommendation.
“I do not agree with it," Shannon said, looking straight at Benavente. "I don’t agree that 90 days is enough time for this case. I believe a year in custody is an appropriate time for this case."
Many of Benavente’s victims were in the courtroom on Tuesday when Shannon addressed Benavente.
“She sounded angry, upset by everything he did to us,” Juanita Rangel said in Spanish.
Rangel added that Benavente deserved it and that she was glad he was forced to pay back the money even if it’s only a fraction of what he took from them.
Ausberto Cisneros agreed.
“It was not $23,000," Cisneros said. "That’s nothing. He got that just from four or five people. Those $23,000 and what was given by the whole group, that’s nothing.”
NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 Responds first spoke to Rangel and Cisneros back in 2019. They accused Benavente of running a housing scam. We soon found many more people had also given him money, up to $5,500 in some cases.
Benavente told us he ran a non-profit charity called 10U Veterans that looked out for homeless veterans in San Diego County. He explained that, through the organization, he offered an affordable housing program, which he advertised within the Latino community. He further explained that the program didn’t work out because of his failing health and said he always intended to return the money to the families. That never happened. NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 stuck with the case, and eventually, our series of reports led to an arrest warrant for Benavente who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
“We’re glad that Telemundo responded," said Rangel in Spanish. "They never abandoned us."
Rangel added that it was hard for many families to come forward and admit they were foolish to give Benavente money. She hopes that by doing so, she prevented others from doing the same.
“You have put these victims through hell for the last six years, depending on when they signed up for your con game,” Shannon told Benavente.
