Amended charges filed Friday against former Skico executive Derek Johnson slightly increase the maximum amount of prison time he faces for allegedly stealing from the company for years.
Johnson, 51, and his wife, Kerri Johnson, 48, now each face two counts of theft of $1 million or more, one count of theft of $100,000 or more, one count of theft of $20,000 or more and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft, according to court documents filed Friday. All are felonies.
If convicted of all charges, the couple each face between eight and 54 years in prison.
Previously, the couple were charged with two counts of felony theft, burglary and cybercrimes and faced between eight and 48 years behind bars.
Pamela Mackey, Derek Johnson’s Denver-based lawyer, declined to comment on the new charges Friday. Kerri Johnson’s Denver-based lawyer did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Johnson — a former Aspen city councilman and mayoral candidate — was fired by Aspen Skiing Co. in December after the theft allegations first surfaced.
Police and prosecutors later alleged that Johnson and his wife stole and sold more than $2.4 million worth of skis, snowboards and other goods owned by Skico during his 17-year tenure as an executive with the company.
“Based on existing evidence, Johnson would take skis from ASC’s inventory and he or his wife would deliver them to a small warehouse in Aspen that they rented,” according to court documents. “It appears that their practice was to remove any stickers identifying the skis as ASC property, photograph them and post them on eBay for sale by auction.
“To facilitate delivery of skis to purchasers, the Johnsons used ski boxes that were purchased and paid for by ASC.”
In addition, a forensic audit found that more than $1 million in inventory was missing since 2008, and that “the ski sales increased in the last couple of years and … that the loss incurred last year was approximately $500,000,” according to the documents.
One of Johnson’s lawyers told a judge last month that Derek Johnson was working as a delivery driver for a local Aspen restaurant and that he and his wife and three children were mainly living on savings.
