More than a dozen San Jose mothers say they were cheated out of their hard-earned money after an event planner, who allegedly made big promises, failed to deliver. Damian Trujillo reports.
More than a dozen San Jose mothers say they were cheated out of their hard-earned money after an event planner, who allegedly made big promises, failed to deliver.
In addition to losing thousands of dollars, the women said that important life events were also tainted.
It was supposed to be the biggest day of Paloma’s life, her quinceanera on her 15th birthday.
Sandra Rosas Campos, Paloma’s mom, said it's not just any other birthday where you can celebrate at home. She paid “VIP Events” in San Jose more than $4,200 to book a hall and a photographer.
But the day before the party, Campos said the hall told her, she wasn’t booked there and they needed thousands more to guarantee the space. Receipts showed she paid a different hall almost $10,000 to book their place last minute.
Campos said that she had lots of anger and stress after borrowing money so her daughter could have her dream event.
On the phone, another mom told NBC Bay Area that she had a similar experience with VIP Events and now, she has a court date to try to recoup her $2,500 deposit for a baptism celebration. She ended up having to hold her party at a park.
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Maria Torres said she lost more than $10,000 for her daughter’s quinceanera and is now working weekends and overtime to pay for the event.
In all, the moms said at least 15 families have been victimized by VIP Events, which is owned by Juan Martin Barcenas Gaspar.
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On the phone, Gaspar questioned some of the allegations. He told NBC Bay Area that his company will have to close because of financial problems. But Gaspar said the families will get their money back. When NBC Bay Area asked how, he said he’s still figuring that out.
The families said they’ve lost a lot of sleep over the entire ordeal, and hope to prevent more people from losing money on what is supposed to be a celebration.
