A Centennial woman pleaded guilty to stealing $500 or more from a women’s shelter by posing as a board member and collecting donations.
Candice Jenkins faces a sentencing range from probation to up to six years in prison and a $100,000 fine, according to a news release from the Colorado attorney general’s office.
Beginning in May 2010, Jenkins posed as a representative of the Gathering Place, a Denver shelter that provides services to women and their children. or that she was a “fundraising co-chair.”
In May 2010, Jenkins produced a yoga DVD, which she sold at various locations across the metro area, claiming that all of the proceeds would benefit the Gathering Place.
In January 2011, Jenkins operated a booth at a fitness exposition where she recruited former Colorado Avalanche player Stephane Yelle to help.
In addition to selling dozens of copies of the DVD, Jenkins also sold gourmet coffee and tea and jewelry, all the time claiming that proceeds from the sale were intended for the Gathering Place.
Jenkins produced and distributed fictitious business cards and promotional fliers that featured the Gathering Place’s logo in color. The shelter was not aware of Jenkins’ activities and did not authorize her to use its name and logo. The shelter did not receive any donations from her, managers said.
Jenkins also told victims that she worked with the Tim Tebow Foundation and the Daniels Foundation to raise money for the Gathering Place.
None of the organizations recognized Jenkins or gave her permission to represent them. None received any money from Jenkins.
When investigators contacted a woman at Jenkins’ address, a woman resembling her answered the door and identified herself as Jenkins’ twin sister, “Caitlen,” according to an indictment.
Later that day, a woman who identified herself as Candice Jenkins left a message for authorities. She told investigators that her sister “Cate” tried to raise funds for the shelter by selling the yoga DVD, but it “never really panned out.”
During a later interview with witnesses, including Candice Jenkins’ ex-husband, investigators confirmed that Jenkins does not have a twin sister.
Jenkins will be sentenced Sept. 28.
