Former Boulder Liquor Store Owner Accused Of $139K Embezzlement

BOULDER, CO -- The former owner of Red's Liquor, at 4481 Broadway, was arrested for reportedly embezzling more than $139,000 dollars from the business, the Daily Camera reports. Jeremy Wayne Barnes, 47, stepped down as an owner in 2017 when he was unable to get a liquor license due to a past felony. According an affidavit, the Camera reports, he bought the shop in 2016 with August Zimmerman, and convinced Zimmerman's mother, Catherine, to purchase the business.

Barnes remained an employee and fired the current accountant, reports the Camera, and told Zimmerman he would take care of bills while they looked for a replacement. After Zimmerman began to notice insufficient funds and bounced checks in May of 2017, she hired a forensic accountant who found credit card deposits that should have been deposited in the liquor store's bank accounts were being deposited in Barnes' account.

Barnes faces a charge of suspicion of theft between $100,000 and $1 million, a Class 3 felony.

Get more details from the Camera here.