Padres’ Concessionaire Booted Another Nonprofit Out of Petco Park After We Called

The leaders of Delaware North want it known: They acted swiftly. 

Just before Monday night’s game, leaders of the multi-billion-dollar hospitality company say they learned the attorney general was bringing civil charges against a leader of Greek Life Aid, a charity that runs concession stands inside Petco Park. 

“At [4:34 p.m. PST] on March 30, 2026, Delaware North learned of legal action commenced against Mr. [Hugo] Muñoz and other defendants by the California Attorney General. Based on this action, we immediately have disengaged Greek Life Aid,” wrote Charles Roberts, a spokesperson for Delaware North. 

But the attorney general’s lawsuit was not the first time questions about Greek Life Aid have been raised. 

In October 2024, Voice of San Diego first reported that Greek Life Aid served an unclear charitable purpose and its founders were associated with a sham charity that previously operated out of Petco Park. At the time, Delaware North leaders said they stood behind Greek Life Aid. 

Greek Life Aid was founded by Muñoz and Sebastián Pineda — two men who previously worked with Chula Vista Fast Pitch, a fake charity Voice exposed in 2023. Chula Vista Fast Pitch raked in millions of dollars at Petco, while pretending to support girls softball. 

Delaware North, the Padres’ concessionaire, operates all of the concession stands at Petco. It pays workers to serve food and drinks at many of the stands. At others, it selects charities and volunteers to work the stands in return for a cut of the proceeds. 

Right after Delaware North kicked Chula Vista Fast Pitch’s crew out of Petco Park, Muñoz and Pineda started Greek Life Aid. But the purpose of the charity, beyond staffing concession stands, was unclear. 

The charity “support[s] college students in achieving their education and personal goals by operating concession stands that generate financial donations for student organizations in San Diego, CA,” according to one mission statement previously posted online. 

In social media postings, the group also claimed to provide scholarships. 

At the time, I asked all the public colleges and universities in the county if they had ever heard of Greek Life Aid. No Financial Aid Office had any record of Greek Life Aid ever providing a scholarship. 

Despite all that, Delaware North leaders said the charity was in good standing to work at Petco Park. 

“After thorough vetting and verification, we found no basis for concern regarding Greek Life Aid’s current operations,” Roberts wrote at the time. “Greek Life Aid has complied with all our requirements.” 

Last week, the attorney general sued the two ringleaders of the Chula Vista Fast Pitch Scam to recover $3.8 million that should have gone to charity. The lawsuit also named four new individuals, including Muñoz.

Muñoz received at least $37,000 while working with Chula Vista Fast Pitch, the attorney general alleges. In the lawsuit, he asks that none of the individuals ever be allowed to operate a charity in California again. 

Delaware North, like many similar companies across the country, allows charity groups to staff concession stands in exchange for roughly 10 percent of the stand’s proceeds. That’s good for the charities and concessionaires, who don’t have to find or pay actual workers. 

The system is ripe for exploitation, a minor league baseball team owner, lawyer and sports management professor named Jordan Kobritz previously told Voice in November 2023. 

“It is an absolute cesspool,” Kobritz said. “There are a lot of guilty parties involved: the sports teams, the concessionaires, some of the nonprofits.”

When charities bring people to work the stands, those people are supposed to be volunteers who don’t get paid. But Voice identified two charities other than Chula Vista Fast Pitch paying workers in cash and below minimum wage to work at concession stands throughout San Diego County. 

On Friday, I verified Greek Life Aid was working at a Ballpark Eats near Section 324 at Petco. I tried to speak with Muñoz, but workers at the stand told me he wasn’t available. 

I spoke to Muñoz and Pineda briefly in 2024, when I reported the first story about Greek Life Aid. 

They initially told me they would provide receipts that showed their charitable giving, but never did. 

When I asked them why they started Greek Life Aid so soon after Chula Vista Fast Pitch collapsed, Pineda said: “Because this is what we know how to do.” 

Pineda assured me the operation was legit and that they had a “business plan.”

After the story about the Chula Vista Fast Pitch scam broke, Delaware North leaders said they improved their practices for verifying charities are legitimate.

They followed that process with Greek Life Aid, Roberts wrote. Pineda and Muñoz provided all the necessary paperwork to be considered legit. 

I asked Padres spokesperson Craig Hughner if the Padres believe Delaware North has improved its verification process enough to ensure that charities are legitimate. 

“The Padres defer comment to [Delaware North] on this matter,” Hughner wrote. 

The Padres organization receives roughly 50 percent of all concession revenue. It contracts with Delaware North, which receives the other 50 percent for operating the concession stands. Delaware North pays the overhead for running the stands out of its end.