Owner’s best friend convicted of embezzling over $420,000 from SLO County company
A former executive of a business in Atascadero was convicted of stealing more than $400,000 from the company on Monday.
Paso Robles resident Robert Vasquez, 38, was accused of embezzling at least $423,460 from Scott O’Brien Fire and Safety between 2019 and 2023, during which time he was the chief operations officer of the company, Cris Webb O’Brien — Scott O’Brien’s son — told The Tribune.
Vasquez pleaded no contest to the charges against him on Monday, resulting in a felony conviction. A no contest plea operates the same as a guilty plea without admitting fault.
“This is a very happy day,” Webb O’Brien said. “I’m so happy that there’s finally a resolution.”
Webb O’Brien said the impact of the crime has far exceeded the amount stolen, triggering union penalties and prohibiting the company from paying its vendors.
Webb O’Brien said the family-run business will be paying for the losses for generations.
“He was very smart with what he was doing,” Webb O’Brien said. “It’s going to impact our business all the way until my son takes over.”
Former executive convicted of embezzlement
After previously pleading not guilty to 15 felony counts of grand theft over $950, Vasquez changed his plea on Monday to no contest on five of the grand theft charges, according to court records.
As an executive, Vasquez had control over the company’s finances, but Scott O’Brien also “trusted this guy because he was his best friend,” his son said.
Vasquez stole money in various ways, including by paying off his personal credit cards and his rent with company bank accounts and writing himself checks, Webb O’Brien said.
“Just everything you can think of under the sun for him to take money,” Webb O’Brien said.
Scott O’Brien did not discover the embezzlement until October 2023, when he began to investigate the company’s finances after money was drawn from a family member’s bank account to pay a company debt, according to court records.
Vasquez left the company on his own volition shortly before then after O’Brien started questioning him about suspicious charges, including a “huge, huge” transfer of funds between accounts, Webb O’Brien said.
Vasquez also pleaded no contest to the illegal possession of an assault weapon — a Smith and Wesson AR-15 pattern rifle — on Monday, court records show.
A sentencing enhancement was found to be true for the amount stolen being more than $100,000, records show. It adds up to five years of consecutive state prison time to the underlying sentence, bringing his maximum possible sentence to six years.
The 10 other grand theft charges were dismissed as part of the plea, as were five counts of felony tax evasion filed last Wednesday, according to court records.
Vasquez will be sentenced on April 6 in Department 7 of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 12:43 PM.
