Fmr. Mrs. America Gets Probation For Clothing Theft Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A former beauty queen was sentenced Friday to two years of probation after being convicted of stealing clothes from high-end stores.

The Hennepin County Attorney's office says a jury took less than three hours to convict 51-year-old Jennifer Kline, from Wayzata. She was crowned Mrs. America in 1988, and was a former host at ShopNBC, now called Evine.

The criminal complaint says Kline would buy expensive clothing items, bring them home and switch the price tags and labels to clothing she already owned. She would then returned them to the store for large credit card and gift card refunds.

Judge Lisa Janzen says Kline's crimes were "sophisticated," and required much planning. Kline is also said to have collected plastic tag holders and other items to assist her in the scheme.

Janzen ultimately decided to give Kline a less-severe sentence than the county attorney was seeking, citing the fact that Janzen had attention-deficit disorder, was going through a divorce and was practically a single mom.

She will also have to serve 10 days of community service in addition to her probation.