Former consignment store owner sentenced for embezzlement
Andrea Ruth Bowengardner owned and operated Timeless Treasures, a consignment store located in San Luis Obispo
– San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced this week that Burbank resident Andrea Ruth Bowengardner (53) has been sentenced to felony probation and 1,040 hours of community work service following her pleas of no contest on March 27, 2024, to three felony counts of embezzlement, and one felony count of passing a check with insufficient funds.
Bowengardner owned and operated Timeless Treasures, a consignment store located in San Luis Obispo from 2016 until she abruptly closed the business in May 2019. When Bowengardner shuttered Timeless Treasures, many consignors had property on consignment at the store. Despite their efforts, dozens of consignors never received their property back from Bowengardner or were never paid for items which Bowengardner sold.
Bowengardner will be subject to standard terms and conditions of felony probation and was also ordered to complete 1,040 hours of community work service – the equivalent of six months of full-time work. Moreover, Bowengardner was ordered to pay restitution to 69 victims in a total stipulated amount of $338,764.71. The court set a restitution status determination hearing on Aug.14, 2024, to address potential additional restitution claims.
Superior Court Judge Crystal Seiler imposed Bowengardner’s sentence. If Bowengardner violates her probation, she faces a maximum sentence of five years confinement.
The case was investigated by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal.