Chef Benjamin Epicure

JUDGE FINDS KALASHOS MADE UNPERMITTED CONSTRUCTION, SETS JUNE 18 HEARING TO RESOLVE CLAIMS

 

By Miriam Raftery

Image: Exhibit from defendants' closing brief in which the Kalashos claimed substantial unpermitted changes to first, third and fourth floors of their Fletcher Hills rental property are each a "nothng burger."

June 1, 2025 (El Cajon) – Former El Cajon Councilmember Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho and his wife, Jessica Deddeh, made major unpermitted construction changes using unlicensed contractors at the Fletcher Hills home that they are currently renting to a family with children,  That’s the finding of San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil.

However, the judge this week also ruled against the City of El Cajon’s request to impose over $2.5 million in fines and denied without prejudice the city’s request to put the home into receivership to be sold to pay the fines, meaning fines or receivership could be allowed in the future if the Kalashos fail to comply with the court orders.

Instead, the judge ordered Kalasho to allow a city inspector access to determine whether health or safety hazards exist and prohibited occupancy including rental of the property  until any code violations found are corrected, and until the Kalashos comply with building, housing and zoning codes.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

JUDGE DENIES KALASHOS’ REQUEST TO POSTPONE JAIL TERM

By Miriam Raftery

File photo: Bessmon "Ben" and Jessica Kalasho

May 11, 2025 (San Diego) – A last-minute effort by former El Cajon Councilman Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho and his wife, Jessica, to postpone their 8-day jail sentence has been rejected by Superior Court Judge Wendy Behan. The Kalashos have been ordered to surrender on June 9th to begin serving their sentence, which was imposed for criminal contempt of court.

The action stems from a 2017 civil lawsuit against the Kalashos, who were accused of using false social media aliases, fake polls, and altered photos to defame plaintiffs including a beauty pageant queen, a taco shop owner, and attorney Lina Charry.  Kalasho resigned from the El Cajon City Council immediately after a settlement was announced with most plaintiffs in that case, amid calls by the public for Kalasho to resign.

Charry refused to settle her case and secured a hefty judgement against the Kalashos, who repeatedly failed to show up and provide financial records to enable Charry to collect the money for her judgement. The court charged and convicted the Kalashos with criminal contempt of court and issued bench warrants for their arrest in May 2023.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.