A Colorado Democrat avoided jail time after she was convicted for forging bogus letters of support following accusations of bullying her staffers.
Sonya Jaquez Lewis, an ex-state senator, was found guilty on one count of attempting to influence a public servant and three counts of forgery back in January.
On Friday, she avoided prison time but was sentenced two years of suspended probation and 150 hours of community service.
Back in July, she was indicted over her supporting documents in a workplace harassment complaint submitted in November of 2024.
She was accused of paying an aide to do odd jobs, such as bartending and landscaping work, with campaign checks.
The state senator also paid the staffer to campaign for a candidate for county commissioner against a legislative rival's wife.
Jaquez Lewis failed to report any of these expenditures in her campaign finance reports.
In response, Jaquez Lewis submitted a 17-page response which featured what she said were letters of support from ex-staffers and friends.
In February of 2025, the State Senate Ethics Committee learned that one of the letters may have been a forgery and asked an attorney to contact every letter writer.
Jaquez Lewis resigned within the next week and said that while she never wanted to trick anyone, she made 'bad choices' under pressure, Colorado Politics reported.
In a statement at the time of her resignation, she said she was going to work for a nonprofit that 'focuses on developing future women and LGBTQ+ leaders through an International lens.'
In November, a settlement agreement showed Jacquez Lewis committed multiple violations of campaign finance law and was fined nearly $3,000.
She boldly declared to the ethics committee that she could have been better at 'conveying my supporters beliefs' and apologized for submitting the forgeries, calling it a 'mistake.'
The Denver District Court judge who sentenced her said Jaquez Lewis, 68, could have faced up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine just for the improper influence conviction.
She instead faces just a $3,000 fine that can be knocked off her record if she completes an additional 100 hours of community service on top of what she was already sentenced.
Denver District Attorney John Walsh chastised her for breaking the public's belief in its representatives.
'This should send the message that elected officials will be held accountable when they break the law and violate the public's trust. Sonya Jaquez Lewis will now pay a price for behavior that simply cannot and will not be tolerated in our community.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Jaquez Lewis for comment.