Discovery+ Serves Up New Documentary Featuring North Texas Bakery
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A new documentary from Discovery+ unwraps the unsavory tale of a years-long fraud scheme at Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas. Fruitcake Fraud, which premiered on Discovery+ on Wednesday, December 1st, tells the story of bakery bookkeeper Sandy Jenkins, and his plot to steal nearly $17 million in order to support his own luxurious lifestyle.
Hayden Crawford, Vice President of Public Relations and Customer Service at Collin Street Bakery, expressed the sheer bewilderment felt by those closest to the culprit, stating:
“This couple sought to be social, sought to be involved with the community and endeavored to do that. And so, it was a surprise to everybody when this came to light that actually, these people were embezzling for years and years. So, all this will be brought to light in this show, and people will see things that they had not seen or heard before.”
Fruitcake Fraud includes interviews from the likes of Collin Street CEO Bob McNutt, who explains to viewers: “What Dom Perignon is to champagne, Collin Street Bakery is to fruitcakes.”
Family-owned and operated, the Collin Street Bakery has produced world-famous pastries since 1896. Their Deluxe Fruitcake, shipped internationally to customers around the globe, has been featured in publications such as The Food Network, Travel Channel, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2015 shed light on the details of the crime, stating:
“According to documents filed in the case and evidence proffered at the sentencing hearing, Sandy Jenkins engaged in a massive scheme to defraud the [Collin Street] Bakery. During that time, he embezzled more than $16 million from the Bakery, and he and his wife, Kay Jenkins, used that money to bank-roll a lavish lifestyle. The government introduced evidence at sentencing, identifying the 223 trips on private jets as well as the locations (primarily Santa Fe, New Mexico; Aspen, Colorado; and Napa, California, among other places), with a total cost that exceeded $3.3 million.”
Bookkeeper Sandy Jenkins was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. He died behind bars in 2019. His wife, Kay Jenkins, received a sentence of five years’ probation, was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, and was forced to write a formal apology letter to the staff and owners at Collin Street.
Nearly a decade later, Collin Street Bakery continues to thrive.
“We don’t like being reminded of that awful time,” remarked Crawford, “but we love getting the chance to tell it from our point of view. A lot of people like to think it would never happen to them, that they would not have been caught off guard like we were. And, I contend it will always happen that way. It’s the trust that allows them to come in and embezzle.”
Fruitcake Fraud is currently available for streaming on the Discovery+ platform, free for subscribing members.
