Missing Swimmer is Co-Defendant in Fraud Case

It has been reported that the man reported missing after a Saturday evening swim from La Jolla Shores is named a co-defendent in a fraud case in Massachusetts.

At the time of his disappearance, 53-year-old Jim Repetto was awaiting sentencing in his home state of Massachussets in connection with a kickback scheme that defrauded a fruit-juice company and netted him and a co-defendant about $1.3 million, according to federal prosecutors.

According to the Coast Guard,Repetto planned to swim the two miles from Scripps Pier to the La Jolla Shores lifeguard tower but never made it.

The Coast Guard takes into consideration factors such as the person's age, water temperature and what they were wearing when determining how long a person can survive in the water, Dunphy said.

A friend of Repetto's notified La Jolla lifeguards around 6 p.m. Saturday after the swimmer was an hour late reaching the beach. Helicopters and patrol boats began searching for Repetto, who was wearing a wetsuit and swimming alone.

Dunphy said La Jolla Shores had thunderstorms overnight with 15- to 20-knot winds and three-foot waves. The water temperature hovered below 60 degrees over the weekend. 

City News Service contributed to this report.