San Diego families paid thousands of dollars for homes they never received. Now, after a years-long investigation, an arrest warrant has been issued for the man they paid. NBC 7’s Sergio Flores has the details.
San Diego families paid thousands of dollars for homes they never received. Now, after a years-long investigation by Telemundo 20 Responde of NBC 7's sister station, an arrest warrant has been issued for the man they paid.
“Benavente admitted to receiving funds from various people to assist them in buying mobile homes,” reads the last page of a request for an arrest warrant signed by a judge on May 3. “Benavente admitted that the money provided by the people never went to buying a mobile home.”
Ausberto Cisneros, a retired teacher, told Telemundo 20 Responde he gave Benavente thousands of dollars meant to help him have access to special financing to buy a mobile home.
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“We said, 'Finally, we’re going to have a place we could take care of, where we could live in,' ” said Cisneros, recalling back in 2019 when he last heard from Benavente.
That same year, Telemundo 20 Responde first met Cisneros and several other families who said that they, too, gave money to Benavente. Some gave hundreds, others gave thousands, but all were incentivized to invite more people to sign up for the program.
THE HOUSING PROGRAM
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Through flyers and other written material, Benavente promised access to special financing for the purchase of a low-cost mobile home regardless of credit. The pitch was mostly made to Spanish-speaking communities.
Families were encouraged to give $5,000 as a deposit and a $500 donation to 10U Veterans Inc. Those who couldn’t afford the deposit were incentivized to at least give a donation and invite 10 people to do the same, thus covering the $5,000 deposit.
Cisneros and others said that everything seemed legitimate, especially after having looked at Benavente’s website for his organization that received their donation. Supposedly.
THE ORGANIZATION
Although 10u Veterans Inc. claims to help homeless veterans with benefits assistance, employment, medical assistance and housing, Telemundo 20 Responde didn’t find any evidence of that. We were never able to get ahold of anyone from the organization at the phone numbers and emails provided on the website. Its nonprofit status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service last year because it hadn’t filed financial reports since 2017.
“All the people gave him thousands of dollars, and he didn’t use the money correctly — I seriously question if he was helping anyone,” said Cisneros when asked about the mission of Benavente’s charity.
BENAVENTE RESPONDS
Telemundo 20 Responde spoke with Benavente, who did not agree to a recording of our conversation and declined to be interviewed. We insisted on an explanation, and he eventually sent an email, explaining in Spanish that the program didn’t work out due to sudden health issues. He said some families received monetary incentives to bring other people into the program so they, too, would have to return the money. He assured me he would return the money to all of the families no later than December 2019, almost four years ago.
The line is not always clear when something like this crosses from a civil matter to a criminal one. So in early 2020, Telemundo 20 Responde contacted the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to see if that line had been crossed in this case.
In early June 2023 the DA’s office made Telemundo 20 Responde aware of a Request for an Arrest Warrant against Benavente that had been signed by a judge. The court document credits a report by Telemundo 20 Responde for showing the scope of the complaints against Benavente to investigators.
Benavente faces three counts of grand theft of personal property. The court document names two women who Telemundo 20 Responde had interviewed previously in relation to this case.
Telemundo 20 Responde has contacted many of the families that haven’t heard from Benavente for years to tell them about the warrant. Many said they look forward to seeing the case play out in court, once Benavente is arrested. The word “closure” was used a couple of times.
I don't feel sorry for him
Ausberto Cisneros
“I don’t feel sorry for him, because I feel sorry for the people he lied to,” Cisneros said.
Back in 2019, Benavente told Telemundo 20 Responde he estimated the amount he received from the families in San Diego to be about $50,000. The families said the amount is closer to $100,000. We called him and emailed him again for this story but the phone was disconnected and the email bounced back.
