Not guilty pleas entered in case

SANDPOINT — A Naples autism therapist accused of stealing from former clients pleaded not guilty Monday to felony theft and fraud charges.

Krista Louise Kreiger-Hurst’s pleas clear the way for a jury trial in 1st District Court. A date for the proceeding was not immediately available on Monday.

Kreiger-Hurst is charged with two counts of grand theft and two counts of financial transaction card fraud.

Kreiger-Hurst, 48, is accused of unlawfully obtaining a Sandpoint woman’s financial transaction card last year and using to make more than $3,000 in charges and cash withdrawals, according to court documents.

She’s also accused of unlawfully using a Sagle woman’s line of a credit at a local home-improvement store.

The Sandpoint woman discovered Kreiger-Hurst was behind the thefts when Ponderay Police showed her surveillance footage, court documents indicate. Kreiger-Hurst was her daughters’ autism therapist. The Sagle woman described Kreiger-Hurst as her former therapist.

Kreiger-Hurst opted not to contest the charges during a preliminary hearing in Bonner County Magistrate Court earlier this month.

Kreiger-Hurst, who is free on bond while the case is pending, allegedly confessed to the thefts when she was confronted by police, court records allege.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.