A woman who stole from a nonprofit she started to benefit children pleaded guilty Thursday to theft.
Kirsten Hamling, 48, who which raised funds by selling beefcake calendars featuring firefighters, faces up to two years in jail and having to pay more than $250,000 in restitution, according to a Denver District Attorney’s Office news release.
Hamling pleaded guilty to one count of theft and had other charges dropped as part of a plea agrement.
Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16.
Hamling founded the charity in 2004 to raise money for the burn unit at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
The charges alleged that beginning in 2005, she spent the money on personal airline tickets, hair salon charges, car repairs and her children’s private-school tuition. Hamling also allegedly filed false tax returns and provided false information to an investigator.
In March, Fired Up for Kids agreed to shut down and move all its assets to Colorado Firefighter Calendar Inc., an unrelated nonprofit company.
That agreement came as the result of a lawsuit filed against Hamling’s organization by Attorney General John Suthers’ office.
Neither Hamling nor Fired Up admitted any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.
The Colorado Firefighter Calendar had been billed as a fundraiser solely for the burn unit at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Hamling resigned last year and, the lawsuit alleged, refused to turn over to a successor any property or funds Fired Up had.
At the time, Hamling’s attorneys said she was the owner of a for-profit business that “graciously donated money” to the hospital but wasn’t bound by contract to do so.
