Fired deputy behavioral health commissioner charged with felony theft in tuition scheme
A former deputy commissioner of the state Behavioral Health Administration was charged with theft and filing false tax returns related to a tuition-reimbursement scheme that prosecutors say occurred while she was leader of a nonprofit.
Lindsay Salas, who was hired for the high-level position at the state agency despite the fact that she was under investigation for theft from her previous job, was charged with felony theft, attempted theft and multiple counts of filing false tax returns, the Adams County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Salas, 38, was executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Adams and Broomfield Counties, which helps abused and neglected children in the foster care system, when she stole $99,000 in a scheme that used the University of Denver’s tuition portal, according to court records.
Salas, who was hired in November as a deputy behavioral health commissioner, worked there until Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office said in April that she doctored tuition reimbursement records to take $99,000. The Colorado Sun reported in April that the 4-year-old state agency, which has been plagued with leadership turnover, hired Salas without checking with the nonprofit where she had worked for 12 years.
A top donor to CASA had agreed to fund Salas’ graduate degree in business administration from DU, according to case records. Under the arrangement, Salas submitted her tuition invoices to CASA, then CASA would pay the university, and the donor would reimburse CASA. But Salas created false tuition invoices, which CASA then paid to the university, authorities say. The false invoices were overpayments, so DU was reimbursing Salas for the overpaid amounts. In all, the overpayments totaled $99,000, according to authorities.
In a separate investigation at the state Attorney General’s Office, Salas agreed to a civil settlement to return $66,000 of the money. The attorney general’s staff found that Salas violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act. Salas was also barred from handling charitable donations for five years, according to the settlement.
In the criminal case, Salas faces one count of theft, one count of attempted theft and three counts of filing a false tax return, all felonies alleged to have occurred from 2022-2025. She is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 9.
Salas’ attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
