Fans cheer on the action during the Western Conference Semifinals Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday, May 9, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
The former accountant for a south metro Denver construction company is expected to avoid prison time after pleading guilty to spending nearly $100,000 in company funds on herself.
Cassandra Stephens, 25, admits using Elite Surface Infrastructure’s credit cards to buy $10,000 courtside seats to a Denver Nuggets game, $14,000 in concert tickets, and nearly $33,000 in first-class airfare to Italy for herself and her family while working as ESI’s bookkeeper.
As part of an agreement with Arapahoe County prosecutors this month, Stephens pleaded guilty to one felony theft count. Nine other counts of theft and money laundering were dropped and prosecutors are asking Judge LaQunya Baker to sentence Stephens to a decade of probation at an Oct. 20 hearing. Stephens has also agreed to pay $63,952 in restitution.
Stephens and her lawyer, Sarah Croog with the Jurdem firm in Boulder, declined comment.
In addition to the criminal case, Stephens is being sued by ESI, which accuses her of stealing $158,653 between early 2023 and early 2024. In a response to the lawsuit that she filed Aug. 14, Stephens admits stealing $97,366 and says she has repaid some of that, leaving only the $64,000 restitution figure. As a result, she considers the lawsuit to be duplicative.
“The plaintiff will be made whole for the true outstanding loss,” wrote the Englewood woman, who is representing herself in that case. “It would be unjust and contrary to Colorado law to permit the plaintiff to obtain a windfall beyond its actual uncompensated damages.”
“The defendant has accepted responsibility for her actions,” Stephens went on to write of herself, “as evidenced by her guilty plea and ongoing restitution payments.”
ESI, in Englewood, has been around for 20 years and employs hundreds of people. Its lawsuit complains that Stephens’ thefts have caused “a delay in the sale of ESI’s business.”
The civil construction company’s attorney is Jessica Arett at the Venable firm in Denver.
Fans cheer on the action during the Western Conference Semifinals Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday, May 9, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
The former accountant for a south metro Denver construction company is expected to avoid prison time after pleading guilty to spending nearly $100,000 in company funds on herself.
Cassandra Stephens, 25, admits using Elite Surface Infrastructure’s credit cards to buy $10,000 courtside seats to a Denver Nuggets game, $14,000 in concert tickets, and nearly $33,000 in first-class airfare to Italy for herself and her family while working as ESI’s bookkeeper.
As part of an agreement with Arapahoe County prosecutors this month, Stephens pleaded guilty to one felony theft count. Nine other counts of theft and money laundering were dropped and prosecutors are asking Judge LaQunya Baker to sentence Stephens to a decade of probation at an Oct. 20 hearing. Stephens has also agreed to pay $63,952 in restitution.
Stephens and her lawyer, Sarah Croog with the Jurdem firm in Boulder, declined comment.
In addition to the criminal case, Stephens is being sued by ESI, which accuses her of stealing $158,653 between early 2023 and early 2024. In a response to the lawsuit that she filed Aug. 14, Stephens admits stealing $97,366 and says she has repaid some of that, leaving only the $64,000 restitution figure. As a result, she considers the lawsuit to be duplicative.
“The plaintiff will be made whole for the true outstanding loss,” wrote the Englewood woman, who is representing herself in that case. “It would be unjust and contrary to Colorado law to permit the plaintiff to obtain a windfall beyond its actual uncompensated damages.”
“The defendant has accepted responsibility for her actions,” Stephens went on to write of herself, “as evidenced by her guilty plea and ongoing restitution payments.”
ESI, in Englewood, has been around for 20 years and employs hundreds of people. Its lawsuit complains that Stephens’ thefts have caused “a delay in the sale of ESI’s business.”
The civil construction company’s attorney is Jessica Arett at the Venable firm in Denver.
