Larimer County officers arrested a former Child Protection Services caseworker on 99 charges of forgery, fraud and other crimes over the last year.

The Larimer County Department of Human Services (DHS) hired 45-year-old Sandra Spraker of Wellington in April 2022. After training, she began working for Child Protective Services in October 2022. Supervisors started expressing “performance concerns” in the summer of 2023.

After an internal investigation, she was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 8, 2023, and resigned on Sept. 15, according to a news release from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

DHS noticed “significant inconsistencies in Spraker’s official documentation, including falsified case reports and requests for reimbursement for local travel that never happened,” according to the release. They reported it to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office began investigating the incident, leading to the eventual warrant for Spraker’s arrest at the end of December.

She was arrested on Dec. 29 on charges of:

• Attempt to influence a public servant – 10 counts
• Forgery – government issued document – 29 counts
• Embezzlement of public property – 1 count
• First-degree official misconduct – 29 counts
• Abuse of public records – 29 counts
• Theft – 1 count

“We have over 150 caseworkers working diligently to serve families in Larimer County, and this is the first case of its kind in Larimer County Human Services,” Director of Larimer County Human Services Heather O’Hayre said in a statement. “We are continuing to tighten our processes and procedures to make sure this does not happen again.” 

Spraker remains free on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Her next court date is Jan. 9.