Former Timeless Treasures owner sentenced in embezzlement case

The former owner of Timeless Treasures, a San Luis Obispo consignment store, was convicted Monday on multiple counts of embezzlement.

Andrea Bowengardner operated Timeless Treasures from 2016 to 2019. When she abruptly closed the store, several consignors still had goods in the store and were unable to collect them or receive payment from Bowengardner.

According to court documents, Bowengardner was initially charged with 20 counts of embezzlement. In March, she pleaded no contest to three counts of embezzlement and one count of bad check.

On Monday, she was sentenced to two years of felony probation and 1,040 hours of community service. She will also have to pay more than $330,000 in compensation to 69 victims.

One of the victims in the case, Kevin Rock, spoke at Bowengardner's sentencing hearing.

“She took all the energy I put into the store and used it for her own greed,” he said. “She is a thief, a liar, a con artist and she has no remorse and she has no conscience.”

As part of her sentence, Bowengardner cannot volunteer or hold positions in which she is given financial responsibility.

If she violates her probation, she faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.