The former executive director for Congregation Beth El Synagogue in La Jolla was sentenced Sept. 19 to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling almost $400,000 for lavish personal expenses during the six years he worked there.
Members of the synagogue watched as Eric Levine, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego. A restitution hearing was set for Oct. 31.
The federal probation department recommended a 30-month sentence. Levine has surrendered his passport as part of his bond.
Levine was allowed to remain free on $25,000 bond and will not surrender to prison authorities until Nov. 14. He may be ordered to pay $394,872 that he has acknowledged stealing, but the judge said there were allegations he took more than $500,000.
Sabraw noted Levine had no prior record but that the breach of trust was unusual in that he defrauded not just his employer but all the people of the congregation. Meanwhile, Levine pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a scheme in which he paid his personal credit card balances with the synagogue’s funds. “Thief — a scarlet letter you will carry the rest of your days,” the judge said. “It’s a violation that cuts to the core.”
Sonia Israel, the former congregation president, told the judge that Levine kept cutting back on the synagogue’s expenses, including heat in the children’s Hebrew school classrooms during winter. She said he stole from more than 600 people who attend the synagogue, located at 8660 Gilman Drive.
“He made our money his own,” Israel said. “For 6 years, he did not think of our families that he stole (from).”
“Eric,” Israel told the defendant, “you betrayed us all.”
Levine used temple funds to pay for restaurant meals, new smartphones for himself and his wife, trips to Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Canada, expensive leather furniture for his home, barbecue equipment, jewelry, Disney vacations and $1,400 for a personal trainer at a fitness club, according to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.
“He is a con man,” synagogue executive director Judith Persky said. “He bullied staff persons. He created a tense workplace.”
In a letter, the synagogue’s rabbi told the judge that Levine’s breach of trust meant that “he lied to me every day, every time our paths crossed.” The letter further stated that the “diminished staff spends much more time on accounting than on our mission of creating a lively Jewish community in San Diego.”
“I am a victim of Eric Levine’s deceit,” said Emily Bartell, the synagogue’s former programming and communications director, who said she was laid off due to lack of funds. “I am collateral damage. I am incredibly hurt and betrayed.”
Earll Pott, Levine’s lawyer, told the judge his client works now as a waiter and holds a second job in a catering business. Pott said Levine intends to contact everyone he has hurt to apologize as part of a 12-step program.
“(Saying) I’m sorry is never good enough,” Levine said. “What I’ve done to the community that I love won’t be fixed for a very long time. I’m extremely sorry to the San Diego Jewish community. I am sorry I am here.”