Ryan Mahlstadt, 31, a former Breckenridge Golf Club employee who stole more than $40,000 from the town-run golf course, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge during a hearing at the Summit County Justice Center in Breckenridge on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Mahlstadt paid restitution in the amount of $44,100, and Judge Edward Casias sentenced him to 10 days in jail in addition to six months of supervised probation.

Mahlstadt was arrested last month after an investigation into the golf club’s finances revealed that he made several fraudulent refunds totaling more than $44,000 into his own bank account over the course of several months dating back to July 2020. After confessing to police, he was booked on felony charges of theft and computer crime theft.

During the hearing Wednesday, Mahlstadt accepted a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor theft charge, penned apology letters to the golf club and town of Breckenridge, and reimbursed the town in full for the amount he stole. Casias also sentenced Mahlstadt to 10 days in jail, which the judge said could be served consecutively, on weekends or during off days as long as it was completed by the end of the year.

“That breach of trust was way beyond just an apology letter,” Casias said. “You need to understand, as do other people, that if you’re doing this type of stuff and you get caught, there are consequences for it.”

Mahlstadt took the opportunity to express regret for his actions, as well.

“I’m very embarrassed and ashamed of what I did, and I let a lot of people down in this community that really trusted me,” Mahlstadt said. “… That’s what hurts the most, letting all those people down that I care about and that cared about me.”