Ex-La Jolla synagogue executive gets 18 months in embezzlement

The former executive director of Congregation Beth El synagogue in La Jolla has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $540,000 from the synagogue over five years, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Eric Levine, 37, had control of the synagogue’s bank account and credit card from 2008 to 2013, overseeing the synagogue’s annual budget of nearly $2 million.

Levine recorded the expenses as Ritual Fund, Rabbi Emeritus, High Holidays, Purim Baskets, landscaping and other things, according to documents filed in federal court in San Diego.

He used the money for trips to Las Vegas, Mexico, Hawaii, Canada and the La Costa Resort and Spa, according to documents. He bought expensive leather furniture and jewelry and paid for Disney vacations and the cost of sending his children to private school, according to documents.

As Levine embezzled the money, the synagogue was forced to lay off workers and delay or eliminate projects such as installing heat in classrooms.

Rabbi Philip Graubart told District Judge Dana Sabow that Levine’s theft has led to a loss of confidence among members of the synagogue.

“Our diminished staff spends much more time on accounting than on our mission of creating a lively Jewish community in San Diego,” he said. “It’s hard to know if we’ll ever be the same.”

Sabow said that the “sense of betrayal cannot be overstated.” Along with the prison sentence, Sabow on Friday ordered Levine to pay $543,000 in restitution.

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