In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting stories from DA employees and what inspired them to pursue a career in public service. Meet the Assistant Director of Prevention and Intervention Programs Martin Arias, who has been with the DA’s Office since 2016.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your position and how you got where you are?

My parents were born in Mexico and immigrated to the US 30 years ago. I am first generation born in the US and am also the first to graduate from a university in my family. I graduated from San Diego State University in 2015. I started working at the District Attorney’s Office as a Crime Prevention Specialist five years ago and am now the Assistant Director of Prevention and Intervention Programs.
As the Assistant Director, I focus on making sure the CARE Center’s needs, as well as those of the staff, are met. Additionally, I build and nurture meaningful community partnerships so that we can continue to provide resources and services to the community.

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you? Why is it important?

Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to honor and remember our ancestors, roots, culture, and all things that Latinos have accomplished. It is important because we should always be proud of where we come from and it should serve as a reminder to us that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting compelling stories from DA employees and what inspired them to pursue a career in public service. Meet Chief DA Investigator Jorge Duran, who has been part of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI) since 2017.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your position and how you got where you are?
I was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, a beautiful island country in the Caribbean. When I was about 5 years old my family fled to the U.S. during a civil war after the country’s president was assassinated. We settled in the Bronx, New York, where I graduated from High School and joined the Marine Corps. I moved to San Diego in 1987 and joined the San Diego Police Department. I worked primarily investigative assignments which included: Narcotics, Homicide, and Gangs. I retired in 2016 as a Captain after 29 and a half years and joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2017. In 2019, I was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Investigation.

The success I have been blessed to achieve in both my personal and professional lives, I owe to my mom and grand ma who, through example, taught me the values which have molded my character: hard work, humility, altruism, empathy, and service to others.

What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you? Why is it important?
Hispanic Heritage Month provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the many contributions and sacrifices made by individuals of Hispanic descent throughout the history of our great country. These contributions span a broad spectrum of disciplines including science, sports, politics, and of course law enforcement. But most importantly, Hispanic Heritage Month allows children to see, read, and hear about achievements by folks like them which will hopefully serve as inspiration to do and be the best they possibly can.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced charges today against Brad Christian Davis, 40 and David Hott, 34, in connection with sexually abusing students in their care at the El Cajon-based Christian Youth Theater. Davis has been charged with one felony count of sexual penetration by a foreign object for a 2010 incident involving a 16-year-old child and Hott has been charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 for incidents that occurred in 2007 involving a 13-year-old child. If convicted, Davis faces up to three years and Hott faces up to ten years in state prison.

“Protecting children from sexual predators and making sure they are not revictimized during the criminal justice process is my top priority,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “Victims in this case whose abuse was beyond the statute of limitations still provided valuable information and evidence that allowed their voices to be heard and will allow us to seek justice.”

Christian Youth Theater is a national after-school theater company with its headquarters in El Cajon and chapters across the country.

The District Attorney was able to file charges under a law that provides a longer statute of limitations in certain legal circumstances. Most people who experience childhood sexual abuse delay disclosure of the abuse or choose never to disclose it because of fear, embarrassment, shame, or the stigma attached to being a sexual assault victim.

Although the District Attorney’s Office and the San Diego Police Department investigate all aspects of a case to discover each chargeable act that falls within the criminal statute of limitations, not all crimes against victims can legally be charged. Absence of charges, where there was abuse, is sometimes based on the nature of the acts that occurred and how long ago they occurred. The DA noted that in instances where charges cannot be filed, the victim is still an integral part of achieving justice in the overall case because the courts may allow for “pattern evidence” to be admitted as a piece of circumstantial evidence in cases involving sexual assaults.

The District Attorney’s Office and San Diego Police are asking for any additional victims to come forward. Anyone with more information is urged to call the San Diego Police Department.

“I’d like to thank all of the victims for their courage in coming forward and our Sex Crimes Detectives for working diligently on this case with the District Attorney’s Office,” said San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit. “We must hold these individuals responsible for their actions, so they don’t have the opportunity to harm more children in the future.”

Judge Michael Groch set bail at $100,000 for each defendant. Future court dates are expected to be provided in the coming days.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today announced that Jason Schrock, 46, charged with stealing tens of millions in public funds has been sentenced to four years in state prison and ordered by a judge to pay $37.5 million in fines with his co-defendant Sean McManus, 48.

In addition to handing down his sentence, Judge Frederick Link ­– who oversaw the entire case – ordered $18.75 million in fines to be paid to the County of San Diego now, reserving another $18.75 million to paid when McManus is sentenced on February 22, 2022. Another $14 million in restitution was ordered to be paid to victims in kindergarten through 12th grade, which will be held in trust and administered by the San Diego Foundation. The remaining restitution of more than $90 million will go the state. The court-appointed receiver was ordered to hold the additional approximately $70 million to be paid out at a future date. In all, more than $220 million in stolen funds were recovered, of which $150 million was the subject of today’s court hearing.

Under a resolution passed unanimously by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors last month, the fines imposed by the court related to this case will be earmarked and exclusively dedicated to programs that directly serve the needs of kindergarten through 12th grade students in San Diego County. The District Attorney’s Office is recommending the funds be allocated in the areas supporting educational equity and acceleration of learning, behavioral health needs, housing and food stability needs, mentorship, and other needs that allow children to thrive, all of which is consistent with the Judge Link’s order to the receiver.

“These defendants engaged in a systematic public corruption scheme on the backs of students, their parents and the public that over time diverted millions of taxpayer dollars into their own pockets,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “Our team’s successful prosecution of this case held the defendants accountable for widespread misappropriation of public funds that extended across the state. Now, a great deal of those stolen funds will be funneled back into supporting students. Children are our future and these funds come at a perfect time to help them recover and succeed.”

McManus, the CEO and president of A3 Education, along with Jason Schrock and nine other defendants were indicted in May of 2019 on a several criminal counts including conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, and conflict of interest.

The case is one of the nation’s largest fraud schemes targeting taxpayer dollars intended for primary education. Schrock pleaded guilty to felony charges including conspiracy and conflict of interest. He has been on house arrest in his home in Orange County since he was arraigned. As part of the DA’s investigation, more than $220 million in assets and fraudulently acquired taxpayer funds is being recovered, representing one of the nation’s largest recoveries.

Prosecutors said a case of this magnitude, with foreign parties and compounded with the set back of the pandemic, could take a decade to see through trial and appeals, during which time hundreds of millions of dollars would have been unavailable to children for educational purposes. By coming to an early resolution and recovering all the funds, the DA’s office was able to save the cost of litigation and guarantee a victory that puts money back into the system to help educate our youth as intended.

The 235-page indictment was the result of a year-long investigation by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office into allegations of fraud in public schools. The investigation uncovered a massive scheme in which McManus and Schrock directed subordinates and co-defendants to open 19 charter schools in San Diego County and across California and obtained taxpayer funds in a variety of unlawful ways while providing little to no education to most of the children enrolled. McManus and Schrock sought out small school districts with limited experience and ability to provide oversight and proposed they authorize online charter schools to earn additional public funds in the form of oversight fees. Without any meaningful oversight, McManus and Schrock used the charter schools to unlawfully secure taxpayer revenue and siphoned more than $100 million into companies they control.

McManus and Schrock paid athletic organizations for student information and documentation used to enroll children into public school under cover of a “fundraiser.” McManus and Schrock paid pre-existing youth programs as little as $25 per student and the state later compensated them as much as $4,000 per student as a “charter school student.” Some parents were unaware their children were enrolled in a charter school and these children received nothing more than they would have already received from their athletic program. McManus and Schrock further inflated the taxpayer funds they collected by backdating student enrollment documentation, misrepresenting spending to meet state requirements for instructional services expenditures, distorting the calendars for the school year to manipulate the state funding formula, and moving children between schools when the students earned maximum funding for a school year.

McManus and Schrock controlled the charter schools and transferred over $100 million to private businesses under their control by falsifying invoices for services provided to the charter schools that never occurred. McManus and Schrock did not use the money to educate students, but instead spent the funds on themselves and their families—they invested in startup companies, real estate, and wired funds directly to themselves or family members. The funds paid to McManus and Schrock’s companies largely ended up in their pockets.

Nine co-defendants in the case have pleaded guilty thus far, including McManus who will be sentenced on February 22, 2022. As part of the plea agreement, McManus is cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office and the court-appointed receiver to assist in the prosecution of the remaining defendants and in the court-appointed receiver’s efforts to recover additional funds.