A judge Thursday sentenced the former quartermaster of Oregon’s Veterans of Foreign Wars to more than two years in federal prison and ordered her to write a 10-page letter of apology for stealing nearly $2 million from the nonprofit and spending most of it on crystals.
U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio urged Cheryl Campos, 62, to explain exactly what drove her to pillage her longtime employer and perpetrate the “egregious abuse of trust.” The letter is due Oct. 31.
“She alone ruined the reputation of this very fine organization,” Baggio said.
Some of the victims — other veterans including some who were supposed to receive benefits — shared written statements with the judge expressing their sense of betrayal, depression and even thoughts of suicide after learning of Campos’ multi-year theft.
Brandy Olmstead, the current adjunct quartermaster of the Oregon Veterans for Foreign Wars, said she wonders how many thousands of veterans could have been helped with the money that Campos pocketed.
“I think of the years it will take to repair the damage of one dishonest member,” she said in court.
Anthony Barber, chaplain for the organization, said he heard from veterans outside the state who wondered “what in the world was going on with Oregon?” He urged the judge to hold Campos accountable.
Standing beside her lawyer, Campos read a prepared statement.
“After almost 20 years with the VFW, I got overwhelmed, forgot my mission, and I lost my way,” she said.
Campos had access to all the nonprofit’s bank accounts and transferred $1,786,530 to her personal accounts, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Ho. She then attempted to conceal the fraud by doctoring financial records, he said.
She used Adobe Acrobat Pro to delete fraudulent transfers from the group’s bank statements in some cases and at other times inserted fake transactions in QuickBooks to offset the transfers, according to federal prosecutors.
The fraud occurred from January 2022 until at least June 24, 2024.
Campos used about $1.4 million of the stolen funds to buy crystals, semi-precious rocks, marbles, stones, statutes and similar items, with the rest going to cover personal expenses such as credit card bills and a Toyota Tundra for a family member, Ho said.
Campos, who studied accounting at Chemeketa Community College and had formerly worked as a document specialist for a Newberg dental equipment company, was fired from her quartermaster position in April 2024 after an audit was done. The Dayton woman also had served in the Army.
She pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, choosing to resolve the case quickly.
But Baggio still pressed to understand Campos’ motivation.
“It’s really puzzling to me,” Baggio said, “ why she did what she did.”
Defense lawyer Jeff Jorgensen said Campos came across a crystal company on TikTok and made a couple of purchases. The company was very complimentary and made her special offers, making her “feel like royalty,” he said.
Then, he said, she made more and more buys.
Those purchases helped her cope with her post-traumatic stress disorder and grief from her parents’ deaths, he said. Campos watched her mother die on a videochat as she was driving back from a VFW state conference, Jorgensen said.
Baggio sentenced Campos to two years and a month in prison, beyond the five months she already spent in jail after her initial arrest in Yamhill County. She also ordered her to pay $1,786,530 in restitution.
The judge said she wanted any proceeds from the sale of the gems, crystals and lawn art that she forfeited to the government to go toward repaying the veterans’ organization.
In addition to writing the apology, Campos must develop a mental health treatment plan and take all mental health medication if necessary, Baggio said.
Campos must start serving her sentence on Nov. 20.