A former ticket office employee at Purgatory Resort has been sentenced to two years probation for embezzling more than $15,000 from the ski area, according to court records.
Tyler Hollingsworth, 33, was arrested Jan. 24 after resort management accused him of theft by selling temporary ski passes for cash and pocketing the money; issuing refunds for season passes to his personal debit card while keeping them active; and misusing his employee discounts.
In late July, Hollingsworth entered a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, pleading guilty to one count of theft, a class 6 felony. He was sentenced last month in front of 6th Judicial District Judge Anthony Baca.
District Attorney Sean Murray said probation was appropriate considering the defendant’s criminal history, suitability for community supervision and ability to maintain a job to pay restitution.
The investigation began Dec. 30, 2023, when Purgatory General Manager Dave Rathbun contacted the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office to report fraudulent activity, according to an arrest affidavit.
Hollingsworth had held a supervisory role for about a year, but by the time the alleged theft was reported, he had been terminated for unrelated reasons, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said that surveillance footage showed Hollingsworth pocketing cash directly from customers. In a Jan. 11 interview, Deputy Cody Hawman spoke with Purgatory Risk Manager Julian Depasquale, who explained that Hollingsworth had been printing temporary day passes and selling them to customers for cash between Nov. 25, 2023, and Dec. 13, 2023. Hollingsworth was also suspected of soliciting customers to his window specifically to sell the temporary passes.
Temporary day passes are intended for customers who have already purchased a pass but lost it and do not generate a sale when issued. Purgatory’s risk manager also informed deputies that during that period, Hollingsworth printed 67 temporary passes, resulting in about $6,633 in lost revenue.
Additionally, the affidavit revealed that Hollingsworth refunded five season passes to his personal debit card, two of which had been purchased by his parents. The total amount refunded in those transactions was $6,032.
Hollingsworth also improperly used his employee discount to heavily reduce or eliminate the cost of purchases for customers, leading to a loss of over $3,200 for the resort.
His supervisors grew suspicious of his activities when he frequently asked whether the cash in his counter drawer was balancing correctly at the end of each day.
The court has ordered Hollingsworth to pay full restitution to the resort, totaling $15,913.
Purgatory Resort marketing manager Matt Ericksen declined to comment Tuesday.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
