SAN JOSE — An employee of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Management Corporation has been charged with extorting a security company contracted by the fairgrounds, authorities said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged Obdulia Banuelos-Esparza, 41, of San Jose, with bribing the owner of 4 Diamond Security in exchange for his recommendation to continue working for the fairgrounds.
Banuelos-Esparza allegedly demanded that the company owner pay her a monthly percentage of the money she received under her contract with the county fair. When the owner refused, Banuelos-Esparza accused the company’s security guards of sleeping on the job site and threatened to terminate the contract if the payments were not made.
The prosecutor’s office said that starting in the summer of 2020, the landlord began paying Banuelos-Esparza monthly in cash at a rate of $1 for every hour of care work. The amount started at $2,500 and eventually increased to nearly $4,000 per month.
“Fairs are where our community goes for fairs, festivals and entertainment,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a news release. “Not for crimes.”
If convicted, Banuelos-Esparza faces up to four years in prison. Her attorney and a representative from the county fairgrounds could not be reached for comment.
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