Boulder County woman set for trial in elderly exploitation case

 By Mitchell Byars

A Boulder County woman accused of exploiting an elderly couple for money is set for trial in October, though her attorneys anticipate she will reach a plea deal before that time.

Christine Grace Sparks-West

Christine Grace Sparks-West, 42, is charged with two counts of theft of $500 or more of an at-risk person and exploitation of an at-risk person. She also is facing counts of violating bond conditions and violating a protection order.

Sparks-West entered a plea of not guilty in Boulder District Court on Friday, but her attorney John Gifford said attorneys were “working toward a disposition” and that there was a good chance the case would be resolved before the trial.

For now, Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill set both the exploitation and the bond violation cases for a two-day trial starting Oct. 7, though Gifford said he would likely file a motion to sever the cases if it did in fact go to trial.

Sparks-West was also set for a motions hearing on Aug. 6.

According to an affidavit, the named victims in the case are a couple who live in unincorporated Boulder County and are both in their 70s.

The man, who has suffered with memory loss and has slight dementia, met Sparks-West about five years ago when they worked together at a store in Boulder and remained friends, according to the affidavit.

Sometime in 2017, the man gave Sparks-West a debit card to buy materials to fix up his home’s basement and create a room that she could sleep in. According to the affidavit, he then became aware of unauthorized purchases on his account, and the bank told him that Sparks-West was buying items through a PayPal account she had set up using the debit card.

The man had authorized Sparks-West to open his PayPal account to order $51 worth of transformers, but from Nov. 17, 2017, through Dec. 21, 2017, the account listed 68 transactions totaling $5,162, according to the affidavit.

Police also said Sparks-West set up a PayPal account for the man’s wife without her knowledge and rang up a total of $963 in charges.

According to the affidavit, Sparks-West, who has an alias of Kristine Sparks-West, is a multi-state offender with a history including burglary, bank fraud, theft and production of false IDs.

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Boulder County woman set for trial in elderly exploitation case