CO Woman Accused of Embezzling $10,000, Spending It On Psychic Hotlines

A Steamboat Springs, Colorado woman has been charged with felony theft and “unauthorized use of a financial device” for allegedly embezzling more than $23,000 from her employer. Jamie Hart, who worked for an excavation company, is accused of spending $10,000 of the money on calls to psychic hotlines. Many, many calls to psychic hotlines, one would assume.

Steamboat Today reports that the local police department has been investigating since October 2014, when the owner of Johnson Excavation noticed that there was something amiss with his books. The paper reports that he suspected the problem lay with Hart, his bookkeeper, and hired another person to check her work. That’s when they discovered “serious problems,” according to the paper, as well as two company debit cards that contained around $15,000 in “non-business expenses,” including many, many psychic readings.

The owner of Johnson Excavation denies using any psychic services himself, and according to an arrest warrant, noted to police that nobody was charging psychics to the company account before or after Hart was fired: “There was no documentation within Johnson Excavating records indicating the use of psychics prior to Jamie being employed or after Jamie was terminated.”

An attorney for Hart told the newspaper that she denies the allegations, adding, without elaboration, that her work environment at the company was “strange.” Sounds like.

Jamie Hart. Mugshot courtesy of the Routt County Sheriff’s Office via Steamboat Today