https://myvalleynews.com/…/temecula-man-hopes-to…/
The past several years have been challenging for Matt Capelouto of Temecula. The local business owner suffered the loss of his 20-year-old daughter Alexandra from fentanyl poisoning in December of 2019. Working through this grief led him to the nonprofit Drug Induced Homicide which has put him on a path of crusading for justice for other victims who unknowingly consume counterfeit pills that are laced with fentanyl. He now serves as president.
Capelouto opened Same Day T-Shirt Printing on Old Town Front Street in Temecula in 2015 and quickly gained a steady customer base for his quality work with fast turnaround. While mourning his daughter’s death, it was hard for him to interact positively with customers, so he promoted employee Yulian Galaz to a managerial position where he was handling the majority of customer payments.
In early 2021, Capelouto’s wife of nearly 27 years, Christine, was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic triple negative breast cancer. This unexpected event further added to his recent struggles and the need for Galaz to manage the store.
That former employee now faces 10 felony counts, accused of embezzling $173,000 from Capelouto’s business. Galaz, 35, set up an account in the store’s name through the financial services platform Square which allows small- to medium-sized businesses to accept credit card payments and use phones or tablets as payment registers. This is not the way Capelouto had his printing company structured to accept payments. This method gave Galaz the means to funnel customer payments into the fraudulent account he created rather than through the store’s legitimate credit card processing system, according to Capelouto.
It is believed these thefts took place during a 14-month period between 2021 and 2022. Capelouto first got suspicious when he realized his revenue wasn’t matching the workload that was being generated. Galaz was let go Aug. 15, 2022. He first appeared at Riverside County Superior Court in Murrieta on Dec. 22, 2023 and pleaded not guilty to the 10 felony counts he was formally charged with during his arraignment. Ironically, that was one day before the four-year anniversary of Alexandra Capelouto’s death.
“This man that I trusted to have my back instead decided to stab me in it,” Capelouto said. “The betrayal is beyond comprehension. Not only was this income that I relied on for my family’s future, but he also had the gall to open up a competing print shop just a few miles away from mine, likely funded with the money he stole.”
The business, Slap Ink Custom Shirts in Temecula, opened last year and Capelouto has since learned that the business license for it is in Galaz’s mother’s name. Capelouto believes this is to shield her son’s ties to the store.
The embezzled money, which is believed to be in excess of $173,000, was not all profit. The majority of it was to cover the cost of materials used for customers’ orders, causing Capelouto to have to absorb all those expenses as well.
On Feb. 9, a settlement conference was held at the Murrieta courthouse to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case and attempt to negotiate a settlement of the dispute, without making any decisions or orders in the case. A trust account has been opened and partial restitution was made. Capelouto said it will take approximately 30 days for the payment to be processed and sent to him and is not an acceptance of full restitution.
Galaz, who is out on bail and now goes by the name Yulian “Jay” Ramos, was accompanied by his mother and criminal defense attorney at the short procedural settlement conference. Capelouto said each step along the way in the legal process they learn a little more.
“It sickened me to learn that much of the stolen money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle of a sports car, fine dining, trips and more. He was doing all this while I was looking for a second job, forgoing basic necessities because I couldn’t afford them, and not able to provide my wife with comforts that could help manage her cancer,” Capelouto said. “I do want to give praise to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for their work on this case as I remain hopeful of full restitution.”
The next step is a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 15 in Murrieta. A pre-trial hearing is held to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case. Amid the Capeloutos’ legal and health battles, they will be remembering their daughter Alexandra, who would have turned 25 years old on Feb. 24.
For more information, https://samedayshirtprinting.com, https://druginducedhomicide.org.
