DENVER - For two years, the Colorado Department of Transportation paid the bill on a lost gas card that was fraudulently used to pump more than $30,000 in fuel, 9Wants to Know has learned.
Court documents obtained by 9Wants to Know show the CDOT card was assigned to a riding lawnmower at a rest stop south of Castle Rock in 2009. But when the state shut down the rest stop and moved the mower, the card was overlooked.
Somehow the card ended up in the wrong hands. According to court records, the card was used at several gas stations in Douglas County since 2009 until an audit found the problem earlier this year.
More than 11,000 gallons of fuel was fraudulently purchased for a total of $32,031.01, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"We should have had a greater inventory on the cards," CDOT spokesperson Stacey Stegman said. "We should have had tougher policies and procedures, so we knew where the cards are assigned."
In court documents, state investigators describe how they let the card remain active while setting up a surveillance camera at a gas station near the shut-down rest stop. In the surveillance video, Keith Kendrick of Larkspur was seen filling up several vehicles, including a pickup and a Corvette, according to court records.
During the period of surveillance on Kendrick, investigators noted in their affidavit how Kendrick pumped more than $400 in gas using the card.
The Douglas County District Attorney's office confirms Kendrick has been charged with two misdemeanor counts relating to the theft of gas.
The search warrant affidavit does not indicate exactly who had the gas card the entire time it was unaccounted for.
Stegman told 9Wants to Know CDOT immediately notified investigators after its own audit revealing the problem. She also told 9Wants to Know CDOT has been putting tighter controls in place to keep a closer watch over department gas cards.
"It's brought some problems to light that we are now able to address and ensure that this isn't going to be a widespread problem in our department anymore," Stegman said.
"Can CDOT promise that this won't happen again?" 9Wants to Know asked.
"I don't know if CDOT can promise it won't happen again, but what we can promise is that we are going to catch it a lot sooner and deal with it immediately," Stegman answered.
9Wants to Know visited Kendrick's home in Larkspur several times for comment, but nobody answered the door. As of the publication of this report, Kendrick has an active warrant out for his arrest in Douglas County.
If you have any information about this story, contact Investigative Reporter Jeremy Jojola at Jeremy.jojola@9news.com.
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