A former Mrs. America from Minnesota convicted of switching price tags on expensive clothes has been sentenced to two years of probation and 10 days of community service.
A jury in August convicted 51-year-old Jennifer Kline, of Wayzata, Minnesota, on one felony count of theft by swindle following a week-long trial stemming from events that took place in November 2015.
The 1989 Mrs. America Pageant-winner, 51, was found guilty of stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from the department store chain.
A former Mrs. America has been sentenced to two years of probation and 10 days of community service after she was convicted of felony theft by swindle
Authorities say Kline bought items from the Southdale Macy’s and attached those tags to clothes she owned.
She returned them with the altered price tags to the Mall of America Macy’s for the large refund on her credit card.
Kline asked for leniency during Wednesday’s sentencing because she had gone through a divorce, was raising the couple’s children and suffers from attention deficit disorder.
Kline asked for leniency during Wednesday’s sentencing because she had gone through a divorce
The charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor if Kline completes probation.
Court documents revealed that an asset protection detective, contracted by Macy’s, alerted police that Kline had made several fraudulent returns between November 5 to November 30, 2015.
On November 5 and November 6, Kline made two purchases of designer clothing on her credit card, totaling $5790.98 at the Southdale Macy’s.
Kline was crowned Mrs. America in 1989. When authorities searched her home they found about 24 of brand name clothing items in her home that she pretended to return
Between November 11 and November 30, she returned what she claimed to be the same items at the Mall of America Macy’s, adding up to $5,501.36.
Store employees first contacted an asset protection detective when they realized that some of the clothes Kline was returning appeared dirty and worn.
When police executed a search warrant on her home, they found about 24 of the brand name clothing items that she bought and pretended to return.
Kline was crowed Mrs. America in 1989.