SJ quinceañera planner charged with scamming families out of thousands of dollars

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- At least seven families showed up to their daughter's quinceañeras and they were shocked to learn that not only was nothing set up or ready, but their reservations were not even made.

Now, a "VIP Eventss" party planner Juan Martin Gaspar is facing prison time if convicted for scamming families out of money that was meant to plan the event.

The families paid him upfront to set up everything needed and Santa Clara Deputy DA Chris Judge says they got back nothing in return.

"This is a crime that's affected many members of our community," Judge said. "He'd been in business for sometime and he was fairly well known in the community. In some cases when family showed up on the day of the event, they learned that the vendors had not been paid and it was not going to happen unless they paid them again."

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Gaspar now faces felony grand theft and authorities are trying to find out if other people were scammed. Appearing before a judge last week, he did not enter a plea.

Our partners at Univision spoke with women who said they hired Gaspar between 2023 to 2024.

Some say they paid him upwards of $4,500 to book vendors and reserve spaces.

But upon arriving at the hall the day of, some businesses said they hadn't been paid and it would cost thousands more to hold the event.

Sandra Rosas said she worked hard to raise money to make her daughters' dreams come true - a dream that was destroyed.

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"They contacted him many times, he did not respond to their requests," Judge said. "In some cases. He did respond to them and told them that he would be trying to return their money. To my knowledge, nothing has been returned."

Rosas actually took Gaspar to court on her own in a civil matter and Deputy DA Chris Judge says she still hasn't received a dollar back.

While the court ordered Gaspar to cease operations as his criminal case continues, the total money lost still totals at least in the high tens of thousands of dollars.

The DA's office says the number of families allegedly scammed may likely be more than the seven that were reported.

If you were in a similar situation with VIP Eventss, you're asked to reach out to their office.