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A nonprofit for kids with cancer run by former tennis star Andrea Jaeger was flagged recently for wrongfully collecting tax breaks, after she allegedly tried to mislead state and county officials that her property in La Plata County was being used for the charity.

The issue reached a breaking point in October when Jaeger, trying to prove the property was being used for the nonprofit, invited county officials to an event she said was for kids with cancer. At the event, however, county officials learned the children were from a local school and were not sick.

“I talked to all the parents there, and they all said an art teacher from Fort Lewis Mesa (Elementary School) invited them to an art contest,” County Assessor Carrie Woodson said. “At that point, I left because I was disgusted. That is not OK – using kids from a neighborhood school to not pay taxes.”

Jaeger, 54, was ranked as the No. 2 tennis player in the world in the 1980s, according to the Women’s Tennis Association, when she was just a teenager. Her career was cut short, however, because of injuries. Since then, she has been part of various charities and philanthropy, and for a time, was a nun with the Anglican Order of Preachers.

From tennis to philanthropyIn the 1980s, Jaeger started an organization based in Aspen called the Little Star Foundation to help children with cancer “through financial assistance, education, medical support, therapeutic play and outreach care programs,” the foundation’s website says.

The charity operates in 37 states and 11 countries, Jaeger said.

Jaeger ran into financial issues with the nonprofit in 2009, according to The New York Times. As a result, she tried to sell the foundation’s property in Aspen for $13.5 million, but neighborhoods said she was breaking homeowners association covenants, which resulted in a lawsuit.

She ultimately sold the property for $10.5 million to a private owner in 2010, according to The Aspen Times.

Around 2006, Jaeger relocated Little Star’s operation to a sprawling 271-acre property at 256 Rancho Milagro Way, about a 30-minute drive southwest of Durango, which she bought in the early 2000s.

Over the years, the property has seen several improvements and now includes a modular home, a 7,144-square-foot indoor riding arena for horses, attached apartments and a 4,128-square-foot Southwest-style home.

In Colorado, certain properties – such as religious institutes, nonprofits and government offices – can receive a break on their property tax. Jaeger filed for and was granted tax exemptions on the property in 2010 under the premise she was actively running a charity for kids with cancer.

But around 2014, Jaeger briefly lost her exemption because she didn’t file her annual paperwork with the state in time to renew the tax break. It was one of the first signals to the county that the property wasn’t being used for its charitable purposes, and Jaeger was possibly taking advantage of the tax break, Woodson said.

“During that time, I went to visit the property,” said Woodson, who was then an appraiser for the Assessor’s Office. “And it appeared to be sitting there vacant.”

Colorado’s Division of Property Taxation, which manages property tax throughout the state, has ultimate say in overseeing tax exemptions. JoAnne Groff, property tax administrator for the state, said that at the time, there wasn’t enough evidence to revoke the tax exemption.

“We sent an investigator to inspect the property,” Groff said. “And although he didn’t see signs of use, the property owner (Jaeger) provided an email explaining the use of the property throughout the year, and we determined the tax exemption appropriate.”

‘A lot of excuses’Woodson, who was elected county assessor in 2018, refocused attention on Little Star. Over the course of 2019, she asked Jaeger for any kind of documentation, such as photos from a recent event, to prove the property was being actively used for the nonprofit.

“There was a lot of back and forth, and a lot of excuses,” Woodson said. “But I never received anything.”

When interviewed, neighbors in the area also said they never saw the property active.

Jaeger did not respond to direct questions about the issue of her tax status when contacted by The Durango Herald. Instead, she responded with a brief statement complaining about the expense of operating a nonprofit in Colorado.

In correspondences between Jaeger and the county, obtained by the Herald through an open records request, Jaeger repeatedly cited privacy issues with taking children’s photos. And she said the property wasn’t active year-round.

“I guarantee you programs are not run 365 days a year at the location,” she wrote. “That is financially and otherwise impossible as we are unlike other places that charge families.”

In some instances, Jaeger would tell county officials about events happening on certain weekends, but Woodson said she would send her staff to the property, who would find zero evidence of activity. When pressed, Jaeger said cars were in garages or people were inside buildings.

A misleading event?Last fall, Jaeger invited the county assessor to an event Oct. 12 that was being held for children and families, who Jaeger said were receiving “program benefits such as financial assistance, daily need supplies and … wonderful care packages that do involve long-term care.”

Jaeger said there would also be kids there with “special needs.” She instructed the county assessor not to speak with any of the parents or children at the event.

But Woodson said she spoke with parents anyway, and they all had the same story: an art teacher at Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary invited them to the property for an art contest.

According to a state report from the Division of Property Taxation calling for the revocation of Little Star’s tax exemption, Jaeger never mentioned an art contest. Woodson maintains the same. Instead, the premise of the invitation to the event, according to the state report, was for “children with cancer or other terminal illnesses.” However, the report said, “All of the kids that were participating … were healthy kids from a local elementary school.”

“So not only does it appear as though Andrea set up this event last minute to appear as though the organization uses the property for their charitable purposes, but this event does not seem to have a connection with the purpose of the organization,” the report said.

Groff said her office looked back at Jaeger’s filings with the state and found there was enough cause to retroactively revoke the exemption back to 2018.

“A charitable organization needs to prove to us they deserve the exemption,” Groff said. “We did not feel the efforts of Little Star showed that was happening.”

Jaeger had the opportunity to appeal the revocation, but instead, she decided to sell the property. After it was originally listed for $5 million, the property sold in November for $1.5 million to a private owner.

While there is no further punishments that can be administered from the state level, Woodson said she was able to contact the title company and inform it about taxes potentially due because of revocation.

As a result, Jaeger may have to pay back-taxes from 2018 and 2019, which add up to about $50,000.

“For me, it was about being fair and equitable in La Plata County,” Woodson said. “When I realized this property was not used for the use it was intended, I just kept pushing back really hard, trying to get any verification on the use of this property for the charity.”

Woodson, who has been with the Assessor’s Office for more than 20 years, said she cannot recall a single instance of a charity having its tax exemption revoked.

Groff said that across the state, it’s a little more common. In 2019, for instance, there were about 37 revocations statewide.

“(With tax exemptions) the community is being asked to pick up the tab for them, because what they are doing is supposed to contribute to the community,” Groff said. “So if there isn’t that contribution happening back to the community, that hurts all of us.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com