Vendors & customers ‘disappointed’ criminal charges not filed against Colorado Springs business owner

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A month-long investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department determined a Colorado Springs business owner didn’t violate state criminal statutes, despite not paying vendors for their sold products or refunding customers for canceled baking classes.

Deidre Peak, the owner of Sweet Addict Bakery and Crafted Colorado, allegedly owes thousands of dollars to customers, vendors, and employees.

At Crafted Colorado on 327 N. Tejon Street, Peak sold homemade crafts, typically made by local vendors. Many vendors who sold products at Crafted Colorado said they are owed money for months worth of sales.

Peak’s other store, Sweet Addict Bakery, sold treats as well as hosted cooking classes, according to the website. But when customers bought one of the cooking classes, they would show up only to find the shop closed and the class canceled without any notice. Customers said they never received a refund.

Tina Ditter was one of those customers. She said she bought three separate cooking classes. Two of them were canceled and she still hasn’t been refunded the $144, as the classes were never rescheduled.

“I don't expect to ever get it back,” Ditter said.

13 Investigates broke the fraud allegations in March, just as the Colorado Springs Police Department opened an investigation into Peak.

However, after a month, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said there isn’t enough evidence to pursue criminal charges and the case will remain a civil matter.

Vendors and customers, who are still owed money by Peak, said they are disappointed the DA’s office isn’t filing criminal charges.

“I feel like there's plenty of us that have provided evidence, especially because she left her website up still collecting money from people even after the business storefront was closed,” Ditter said. “To me, that signals just clear fraud.”

But Colorado doesn’t have a definitive state criminal fraud statute. The closest charge would be theft. In an email to vendors and customers, the lead investigator on the case, Ljilijana Chase said, “The potential applicable statute for a case of this kind would be Theft in which we would have to show a 'permanent intent to deprive' by Mrs. Peak. Unfortunately, we cannot prove that intent,” as a couple of customers were reimbursed and some vendors received their product back.

“The only thing that can be proven are very poor business decisions and practices which have resulted in breaches of contracts with vendors and loss of paid-for services to customers due to Crafted Colorado and Sweet Addict Bakery going out of business,” Chase said in her email.

CSPD’s investigation is now closed as a civil matter. A couple of lawsuits were already filed against Peak in March, but if any other vendors or customers want some form of remedy, they will have to go through the civil courts.

Ditter said she wouldn’t file her own lawsuit because her credit card company already reimbursed her for the canceled classes. But she said if a group of vendors and customers wanted to file a class action lawsuit, she would join it.

“I can understand, I guess, the legality of it and trying to show the intent,” Ditter said. “But I think there is enough of us — there are some people I spoke with that were out hundreds of dollars.”