Ripple Frozen Yogurt, 1682 30th St. in Boulder, is seen on Friday, July 14, 2023. (BusinessDen file)
The former bookkeeper for a frozen yogurt shop in Boulder has pleaded guilty to theft and agreed to pay back $95,000 as part of a plea deal that will keep her out of prison.
Aiesha Teague, 40, is still being sued by Ripple Frozen Yogurt though. Reached by email, she declined to comment on her legal cases until she is formally sentenced in February.
Teague had been the accountant for Ripple, which has one store in a nondescript strip mall at 1682 30th St., for 10 years when, in early 2023, her ex-husband called the store and accused Teague of moving money from the company’s bank account to a personal account.
After looking into the matter, Ripple owners Jamie Gardner and David Humphrey came to believe that Teague pilfered $114,425 by writing nearly 200 company checks to herself and her company, and by transferring Ripple money to herself electronically, between May 2012 and August 2022. She was legitimately paid $38,415 for bookkeeping in that time.
In February of this year, after Ripple fired Teague, a lawyer for Teague called Gardner and said that his client was willing to pay $20,000 in restitution, according to Boulder Police records that BusinessDen obtained. Gardner turned down the offer and hired a lawyer instead.
Teague turned herself in at the Boulder County Jail on the morning of May 30. She was booked and charged with three felonies: theft of more than $100,000, forgery and identity theft.
Aiesha Teague, then 39, was booked into the Boulder County Jail on May 30, 2023, and charged with three felonies. (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office)
Under their plea agreement, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office offered to drop all three counts and ask for probation, rather than prison, if Teague would plead guilty to theft of less than $100,000 and pay $95,000 in restitution. A judge approved their deal Dec. 4.
“After multiple conversations with the victim, we required a guilty plea to a felony offense,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty told BusinessDen by email.
“The defendant pled guilty and is scheduled for sentencing in February. As part of that sentence, we will also seek restitution for the victims, provided it does not interfere with the civil suit that they brought against this defendant,” the prosecutor added. “Law enforcement is continuing to investigate other allegations that have been made.”
On June 7, one week after she was charged by prosecutors, Teague was sued by Ripple Frozen Yogurt for theft, fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty. Teague has denied wrongdoing in that case. A five-day trial is set for late August.
Ripple’s attorneys declined to say what effect, if any, Teague’s plea has on their case. The shop is represented by Rob Marsh and Daniel Godin with Jester Gibson & Moore in Denver.
Teague’s criminal defense attorney is Claire Elster with Elster Law Office in Westminster. Her civil defense attorney is Scott Brenner with the Thomas Howard firm in Louisville.
Ripple Frozen Yogurt, 1682 30th St. in Boulder, is seen on Friday, July 14, 2023. (BusinessDen file)
The former bookkeeper for a frozen yogurt shop in Boulder has pleaded guilty to theft and agreed to pay back $95,000 as part of a plea deal that will keep her out of prison.
Aiesha Teague, 40, is still being sued by Ripple Frozen Yogurt though. Reached by email, she declined to comment on her legal cases until she is formally sentenced in February.
Teague had been the accountant for Ripple, which has one store in a nondescript strip mall at 1682 30th St., for 10 years when, in early 2023, her ex-husband called the store and accused Teague of moving money from the company’s bank account to a personal account.
After looking into the matter, Ripple owners Jamie Gardner and David Humphrey came to believe that Teague pilfered $114,425 by writing nearly 200 company checks to herself and her company, and by transferring Ripple money to herself electronically, between May 2012 and August 2022. She was legitimately paid $38,415 for bookkeeping in that time.
In February of this year, after Ripple fired Teague, a lawyer for Teague called Gardner and said that his client was willing to pay $20,000 in restitution, according to Boulder Police records that BusinessDen obtained. Gardner turned down the offer and hired a lawyer instead.
Teague turned herself in at the Boulder County Jail on the morning of May 30. She was booked and charged with three felonies: theft of more than $100,000, forgery and identity theft.
Aiesha Teague, then 39, was booked into the Boulder County Jail on May 30, 2023, and charged with three felonies. (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office)
Under their plea agreement, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office offered to drop all three counts and ask for probation, rather than prison, if Teague would plead guilty to theft of less than $100,000 and pay $95,000 in restitution. A judge approved their deal Dec. 4.
“After multiple conversations with the victim, we required a guilty plea to a felony offense,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty told BusinessDen by email.
“The defendant pled guilty and is scheduled for sentencing in February. As part of that sentence, we will also seek restitution for the victims, provided it does not interfere with the civil suit that they brought against this defendant,” the prosecutor added. “Law enforcement is continuing to investigate other allegations that have been made.”
On June 7, one week after she was charged by prosecutors, Teague was sued by Ripple Frozen Yogurt for theft, fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty. Teague has denied wrongdoing in that case. A five-day trial is set for late August.
Ripple’s attorneys declined to say what effect, if any, Teague’s plea has on their case. The shop is represented by Rob Marsh and Daniel Godin with Jester Gibson & Moore in Denver.
Teague’s criminal defense attorney is Claire Elster with Elster Law Office in Westminster. Her civil defense attorney is Scott Brenner with the Thomas Howard firm in Louisville.
