Event planner stole thousands from families hosting quinceañeras, CA officials say

An event planner faces charges that he stole thousands of dollars from families who hired him to plan quinceañera parties for their daughters, California authorities say.

Juan Martin Gaspar, 51, of San Jose, also known as Juan Martin Barcenas, is accused of seven felony counts of grand theft, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in an Oct. 2 news release.

Quinceañeras are elaborate 15th birthday parties, normally held for Latina girls.

“A quinceañera is a very important event in a young woman’s life,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the release. “The memories of that special day should be wonderful ones, not the memory of being ripped off by someone you trusted.”

Gaspar, who is well-known as a quinceañera planner, accepted money from at least seven families to plan the parties, ”and then did not pay the vendors who provided everything from decorated venues to the food,” prosecutors said.

The families were then confronted by the unpaid vendors, sometimes on the day of the event, prosecutors said.

The district attorney’s office opened an investigation following news reports on Gaspar and his event-planning business, prosecutors said.

Gaspar, who was released on $100,000 bail, is barred from working as an event planner while the criminal case is pending, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors asked anyone with information or who may have been a victim to contact 408-792-1054 or consumer@dao.sccgov.org.

San Jose is about a 50-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.

This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Event planner stole thousands from families hosting quinceañeras, CA officials say."