Former SLO consignment store owner sentenced to felony probation

June 11, 2024

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A judge has sentenced a woman who owned a San Luis Obispo consignment store to felony probation and more than 1,000 hours of community service, in addition to a requirement she pay more than $300,000 in restitution, for committing embezzlement and writing bad checks.

Andrea Ruth Bowengardner, who previously lived in Arroyo Grande, owned Timeless Treasures Home Consignment, which operated at a single San Luis Obispo location for nearly 30 years before closing abruptly in May 2019. At the time Timeless Treasures closed, Bowengardner was several hundred thousand dollars in debt and already facing criminal charges for writing bad checks.

Bowengardner, 53, sold items that 58 consignors entrusted her to sell. But, she never paid the consignors the money they were owed, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.

The consignment store owner sold some of the items at an auction in May 2019 and others between Dec. 2018 and June 2019, prosecutors said.

In Feb. 2022, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint charging Bowengardner with 10 counts of felony embezzlement. An arrest warrant was issued, and shortly afterwards, Bowengardner posted a $20,000 bail bond.

In 2005, Bowengardner owned a pair of consignment stores in Northern California called The Wood Shoppe. There were at least two successful lawsuits against The Wood Shoppe in 2006, Sacramento County court documents show.

In 2019, Timeless Treasures closed shortly before or after being evicted from its location at 4554 Broad Street. The property manager evicted Timeless Treasures for owing more than $40,000 in back rent, according to bankruptcy documents.

After Bowen-Gardner filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, she had nearly $370,000 of debt and more than 50 creditors, according to a bankruptcy filing. State prosecutors had also charged Bowengardner with two felonies and one misdemeanor for writing bad checks.

Former Timeless Treasures employees previously said there were numerous times they were not paid or their paychecks bounced. At least one of the former employees filed a complaint with the California Labor Commission.

On March 27, 2024, Bowengardner pleaded no contest to three felony counts of embezzlement and one felony count of passing a check with insufficient funds.

Judge Crystal Seiler recently sentenced Bowengardner to felony probation and 1,040 hours of community work service, the equivalent of six months of full-time work. Additionally, Seiler ordered Bowengardner to pay restitution totaling $338,74.71 to 69 victims. 

If Bowengardner violates her probation, she faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A restitution status determination hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 14.