the missing millions

 What the City of San Diego uncovered was not a mistake. It appears to be a crime. A formal audit of Belmont Park’s operator, Symphony Asset Pool XVI LLC, exposed underreported income so severe it triggered legal penalties. Rent was short. Payments were declared delinquent. The operator was ordered to pay for the audit. The lease was breached. Public funds were lost. This was not sloppy accounting. This was a breakdown in financial integrity on public land. 

Then came the most shocking discovery of all. The lease requires monthly revenue reports and an annual report every year. These documents are not optional. They are mandatory. Yet in response to a public records request, the City confirmed that no monthly or annual gross revenue reports had been received for multiple years. Not a single one. City staff admitted there were no records to provide. The operator failed its most basic financial duty. And no one stopped it. 

When asked why records were missing, the City offered silence and redactions. Some files were withheld using a broad exemption. The official who approved the withholding was the same manager named in the audit correspondence. The public was given no explanation for the missing revenue reports. No statement. No accountability. What began as a lease violation now raises far more serious questions. Who allowed this to continue? Who benefited? And how deep does the deception go?