Former employee of Boulder’s Shining Mountain Waldorf School convicted of forgery

Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)

Aug. 30--The former business director of Boulder's Shining Mountain Waldorf School accused of embezzling almost $80,000 from the school last year was convicted on two counts of forgery Monday.

Laurie Beth Ireland-Ashley, 55, was arrested in November on suspicion of theft between $20,000 and $100,000, forgery and insurance fraud.

After deliberating for two days, the jury came back Monday with a conviction of two counts of forgery -- Class 5 felonies.

The forgery convictions each carry a potential prison sentence of one to three years, according to Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett.

"We're very pleased with the verdict," Garnett said. "This case was very complex, but anytime a person who is financially responsible for a school abuses that power -- it will be something that my office looks at very closely."

The jury was hung, however, on one count of theft and one count of insurance fraud, according to the Boulder District Attorney's Office.

"What started as a case with six charges," wrote Ireland-Ashley's attorney, Patrick Ridley, in an email, "resulted in the jury finding that two documents were altered. The District Attorney dismissed two counts before the jury trial and then dismissed two counts after the jury returned. The jury convicted Ms. Ireland-Ashley of altering two documents."

An internal audit of the school's finances by a forensic accounting firm found that Ireland-Ashley had received $79,793.20 in "suspicious" payments, including a check for $30,342.12 that was "especially questionable," according to the affidavit.

Employees of the school told investigators that Ireland-Ashley claimed the $30,000 check -- issued on Dec. 19, 2014 -- was to reimburse her for repair expenses related to the September 2013 floods.

But when shown two invoices for flood work, the company that did the flood repairs, ServPro, said the invoice provided by Ireland-Ashley was not theirs and appeared to be forged.

In addition, when shown a bank statement provided by Ireland-Ashley that had a handwritten note saying "flood" -- with an arrow pointing to payments made to ServPro -- the company said their records do not show a payment was ever made to them, according to the affidavit.

The check was written to LIA and Associates and deposited in an account that Ireland-Ashley and her husband were the signers on. An investigator found that money deposited into that account would then be transferred from that account into another account that was used for personal expenses such as dining, clothing and entertainment.

"The jury did not find Ms. Ireland-Ashley guilty of theft," Ridley wrote. "The jury did not find her guilty of stealing money from Shining Mountain Waldorf School. She is not guilty of theft."

Ireland-Ashley's sentencing will take place on Oct. 27.

Anthony Hahn: 303-473-1422, [email protected] or twitter.com/_anthonyhahn

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