Santa Rosa woman sentenced in embezzlement scheme

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Karen Holzworth and her husband stole hundreds of thousands of...

A Santa Rosa woman was sentenced to nine months in jail for acting as an accessory to an embezzlement scheme in which her husband stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from parking meters at Santa Rosa Junior College where he worked as a campus police officer, prosecutors said.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Gary Medvigy also sentenced Karen Holzworth, 51, of Santa Rosa, to serve three years of probation following her jail term and to pay an undisclosed amount of restitution to the school, said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch.

The investigation began after Jeff Holzworth, a 28-year veteran of the campus police force, was “observed collecting money while off duty and at odd hours,” said Deputy District Attorney Amy Ariyoshi. Karen Holzworth deposited large amounts of $1 bills and, on at least one occasion, “immediately withdrew some or all of the money,” Ariyoshi said.

The Holzworths are thought to have stolen roughly $280,000 between 2005 and 2012.

A search of the couple's home revealed cash and change throughout the residence. The Holzworths reportedly used the ill-gotten cash to fund a luxurious lifestyle “they otherwise could not afford,” Rivtich said, including trips to casinos and shopping centers in Las Vegas, San Diego and Monterey.

“Karen Holzworth’s conduct financially benefited her and her family at the expense of struggling college students and the community,” Ravitch said in a statement. “Her conduct caused a great loss, financial and emotional, to both the college and our community.”

Jeff Holzworth pleaded guilty in April 2014 to grand theft and 11 counts of possession of stolen property and was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale