Amy’s Wicked Slush owner to answer theft charges Monday

The owner of a popular Healdsburg-based slush company will appear in Sonoma County Superior Court Monday to answer allegations that she stole money from a former accounting client.

Amy Joy Covin, 59, was arrested last week by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, after prosecutors filed charges July 29 accusing her of two felonies, grand theft and attempted grand theft.

On Thursday, the owner of Amy’s Wicked Slush issued a statement through her attorney, Gordon Scott, calling it an “unfortunate situation” and saying she has faith in the system for a resolution.

“While I cannot provide details of this unfortunate situation, I will say this: It has nothing to do with Wicked Slush or my former profession as a CPA (certified public accountant),” the statement said.

“It is a personal matter, related to contractor work performed in the rebuilding of my home after losing it to a fire some years back,” it continued. “I have faith and trust in the due process of our court system, and I am cooperating fully in that process. The simple truth is always the best.”

Scott said he advised Covin not to speak with the media about the matter.

The theft allegations are related to a small-claims case Covin pursued against Pacific Tile in 2018 in Sonoma County courts.

Covin sued the company in December of that year for almost $10,000 in damages, according to court records. Pacific Tile did not contest the case and Covin was awarded damages and costs of $10,157.43 in February 2019. It was unclear from court records what the damages entailed or whether the monetary award was ever collected.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the party alleging theft in the current case reported to Windsor police in March that Covin had transferred money from their account at least three times, amounting to almost $11,950.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Juan Valencia said the transfers were made on Sept. 30. The theft charge references that day; the attempted theft allegation is dated March 8 of this year.

He said investigators determined that Covin had access to the reporting party’s financial accounts when she served as the victim’s accountant. Covin’s attorney declined to address that allegation.

District Attorney’s Office spokesman Brian Staebell declined to elaborate on the charges.

Covin told the Press Democrat in a 2019 interview that she ended her accounting practice in 2017 before opening Amy’s Wicked Slush across from the Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach.

The company opened to eager patrons in 2017 and was named by the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce as the 2018 Business of the Year. Covin expanded to additional locations in Sonoma County and more recently to a site at Santa Rosa’s Epicenter Sports and Entertainment venue.

When businesses were closed during the pandemic, Covin and her staff quickly pivoted to offer a drive-up instead of sit-down business that first summer, painting pavement stripes and creating an open-air slush garden.

She said in her statement that she had received encouragement since news of her arrest became public: “I would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support you’ve sent my way.”

Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the contractor.