The former executive director of the Jefferson County Children’s Alliance (JCCA) has been convicted of eight felony counts of Theft and two counts of Forgery. The Jefferson County jury deliberated less than one hour this morning before returning their guilty verdicts.

Cheryl Fugett, 60, of Denver, stole over $20,000 from the organization between December 2003 and February 28, 2007.

In her three-day trial that began Tuesday, June 1, Fugett chose to represent herself.  Prosecutor Sean Clifford put on 20 witnesses who described how Fugett repeatedly violated the trust of her board as well as those who provided funding for the non-profit. 

Evidence was presented to the jury showing that Fugett used the JCCA’s funds to pay $762 for her daughter’s summer tuition at Colorado State University, to have over $5,000 personal dental work done, for a $1,400 home roof repair and for $1,000 in repairs to the pool and hot tub at her home.

In addition, Fugett wrote over $5,000 in checks on the JCCA’s accounts towards paying off her personal credit cards. She also wrote and cashed numerous checks to herself, diverting thousands of dollars to her own personal use.

Clifford told the jury that Fugett was the “sole financial guardian” of the organization’s resources and that she had abused that power.  He described
how she had deliberately created a paper trail to mislead the board of directors and to keep their focus away from her misuse of the organization’s funds.  She created “dummy files” to camouflage four years of theft.

District Attorney Scott Storey called this a tragic case of a woman who had dedicated herself to helping children who were victims of abuse. “It’s ironic that in her position of trust, Cheryl Fugett ultimately hurt the very people she was committed to helping by taking the organization’s money for her personal benefit,” said Storey.

The JCCA provided forensic interviews for children who were victims of abuse in a child friendly atmosphere.  The non-profit organization shut down operations at the end of 2007 and is currently merging its remaining assets with a similar facility in Arvada.

Fugett failed to appear for court this morning for closing arguments.  The court made attempts to locate her but were unsuccessful.  Ultimately the court proceeded without her and the jury heard closing argument only from the prosecution.  A warrant has been issued for Fugett’s arrest and a cash bond was set in the amount of $500,000.