Charges Shock Long-time Club Members
Trevor Phipps
For years, the Elks Lodge No. 316 has gained a strong reputation as a place of camaraderie, community and public service for the town of Cripple Creek.
However, recently key organization members noticed that much of the money raised by the club and intended to go towards helping people in the area was missing.
A further investigation and subsequent audit by the club discovered that more than $100,000 had been stolen from the lodge leaving it under dire financial stress. “The financial impact to the Lodge has been devastating,” said one long-time member. Moreover, the investigation determined that the theft had been an inside job, with evidence pointing at a fellow Elks Lodge member.
Last month, Cripple Creek resident Rhonda Duncan was taken into custody due to a slew of felony theft allegations. According to arrest records, Duncan was arrested by the Cripple Creek Police Department in early October and booked into the Teller County Jail with the following felony charges: theft $20,000-$100,000, computer crime, forgery, offering false instrument for recording, theft $2,000-$5,000 and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device.
Duncan was booked into the Teller County jail on a $3,000 bond. Duncan has since been released on bond and has attended at least two court dates. including one which was held on Oct. 26.
The incident has shocked many Elks’ members, along with local residents who have strong ties with the Elks Lodge. It marks probably the biggest inside-theft case since the city itself experienced much internal theft in the mid-1990s, a case that resulted in felony charges and a shakeup of operations at city hall.
According to Cripple Creek Police Chief Bud Bright, Duncan turned herself into the police department. This then led to her arrest. Now facing multiple felonies, Duncan is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law, according to the police chief.
Elected officers of the Elks Lodge stressed that they have received much support from the police department in the handling of this case.
