COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Court records confirmed Friday that Richard Reynolds, 43, pleaded guilty in a fraud case involving dozens of couples who paid for wedding services but received nothing.
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to five years in prison as part of his plea agreement made in late July; records indicate that he pleaded guilty to just one of 16 charges against him — felony theft.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 reported late last October that authorities arrested Reynolds on the charges tied to an investigation that began in January 2021.
The investigation found that Reynolds was listed as part-owner of the Black Forest Retreat, a wedding venue on Teachout Road; when that business closed because of a zoning issue, he kept approximately $260,000 from 20 couples who had scheduled weddings at the retreat.
Among the victims attending the sentencing hearing and making statements to the judge were Katelyn Olson, and Jared and Melanie Francis.
“It was pretty hectic,” Olson recalled. “I was really shocked by how many people were there. I knew there were a lot of victims, but I didn’t really know how many. I couldn’t even really get a good count on how many people there were. There were people inside and outside the courtroom. There wasn’t even really standing room out there. So I had to sit outside the courtroom and wait to give my statement.”
The Francises revealed Reynolds’ comments to the judge.
“They let us all give statements , and then somebody gave a character statement on him, and then they let him talk right before,” Melanie Francis said. “He tried to say that he would sell off all his assets to pay us back ,if they gave him probation. He said that he used toe money to pay debts.”
The witnesses said that they learned Reynolds didn’t spend the money taken, and no one has told them where it is or how they can get it back.
“A lot of the case was so frustrating,” Olson explained. “It was hard to get any information from prosecutors or the district attorney’s office. We were never told why he pleaded guilty to just one charge and not the others.”
Two of the three victims said that they sought counseling or therapy to cope with the emotional strain of the case.
When asked whether the sentencing brings then closure, the victims had mixed reaction.
“I don’t (have closure),” Olson confessed. “I was hoping for that feeling, and I don’t feel it yet.”
Jared Francis said that he put the case behind him long ago.
“I think I feel some sense of closure,” he said. “Something happened to (Reynolds). It’s a little bit of a relief, but we’ve kind of been over it.”
The Olsons and Francises proceeded with weddings on their scheduled dates, once they suspected their payments to Reynolds might be gone forever.
“We decided to not let everything get ruined,” Olson said. “We got married in Golden — which worked out best for us because weddings are a lot less expensive there than they are here.”
The Francises held their wedding in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We had to scale it down from 150 people to 35,” Melanie Francis said.
Reynolds’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment from KRDO NewsChannel 13.
Victims said that over the summer, they won a civil case against Reynolds and a judge ordered him to pay restitution of three times the amount of money he took.
That seems unlikely, however.