Boulder Elder Abuse: Woman Charged With Stealing From Couple

BOULDER, CO – A Boulder county woman is accused of financially exploiting an elderly couple with whom she lived, allegedly bilking them out of thousands of dollars, creating false accounts in their names and forging a signature on a $10,000 loan, prosecutors said.

Christine Grace Sparks-West, 41, was arrested Saturday accused of of two counts of theft of $500 or more of an at-risk person and two counts of criminal exploitation of $500 or more of an at-risk person.

The couple, in their 70s, live in unincorporated Boulder County, an arrest affidavit said. The husband has been diagnosed with memory loss and borderline dementia.

Sparks-West knew the couple for around five years, after working with the husband in a Boulder business, the affidavit said. During 2013 floods in Boulder County, she camped in the couple's back yard and then moved into the basement, where she allegedly did some construction work to make it a livable space.

Police say the husband was contacted by a Lakewood bank for unusual transactions on his account. Allegedly Sparks-West had set up a PayPal account attached to the husband's debit account in his name, through which she purchased more than $5,000 of items in more than 65 transactions between Nov. 2017-Dec. 2017. She told police they were Christmas presents for children and other expenses. She also told police a story that she had accidentally used the husband's PayPal account instead of her own while visiting Florida.

The affidavit also asserted Sparks-West also had arranged a $10,000 loan in the husband's name, which she told police was repayment for the money she spent fixing the basement. She told police the husband had signed for the loan via her cell phone, using the Docusign program, which he denied.

Sparks-West also allegedly set up a PayPal account for the man's wife, unbeknownst to her charging almost $1000. Sparks-West made promises to the couple to repay them, but had made a few small payments, totaling $600 police said in the affidavit.

Related: Elder Abuse Legal Rights Panel To Be Held In Boulder County

Police checked national criminal databases and found records for a Kristina Sparks-West showing her to be a "multi-state offender" with past convictions for forgery, theft, bank fraud, counterfeiting and drug possession, among others, the affidavit said.

Sparks-West is next scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. She is being held on two $5,000 cash bails and two $5,000 PR bonds, the Boulder Sheriff's office said.

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