A man who once owned a glitzy call-girl ring that claimed to cater to Denver’s elite was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to six months of home detention.
Scottie J. Ewing also was ordered to serve three years of supervised probation and pay $77,614 in restitution.
Between early 2004 and mid-2005, Ewing owned a prostitution service called both Denver Sugar and Denver Players. The service charged customers $300 an hour, and escorts who worked for the service told 9News in 2008 that the business’ client list included prominent figures. Then-Chief U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham resigned from the bench that year after a 9News report alleged that Nottingham’s name appeared on the escort service’s client list.
At the time federal agents busted the ring in 2008, the service was owned by Brenda Stewart, who faces money-laundering, racketeering, witness-tampering and tax-evasion charges in federal court. Her trial is scheduled to start in November.
Stewart is alleged to have bought the business from Ewing, and federal authorities charged Ewing with only a single count of tax evasion for not paying income tax on money he earned from the business. Ewing struck a plea bargain with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid prison time, after agreeing to cooperate in Stewart’s prosecution.
“Mr. Ewing is expected to be a significant witness if that case proceeds to trial,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch said in court Wednesday.
In urging Judge Marcia Krieger to accept the plea deal, Ewing, a former professional skier, said he wanted to move on from his colorful past.
“I ran this business for approximately 18 months,” he said. “I’m not going to let this 18 months define my life.”
“I hope it does define your life,” Krieger responded. “What have you learned from it?”
“I learned,” Ewing replied, “that I should not have ignored my tax obligations.”
After the sentencing, Ewing called the punishment a “slap on the wrist” and said he should have been wiser about talking with federal investigators before hiring an attorney.
