By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican lawmaker is responding to a glaring report about an alleged misuse of Arizona taxpayer funds of historic proportions in Santa Cruz County.
Late last month, Arizona State Representative Matt Gress, the House Chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC), issued a response to an investigatory report by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office over “alleged significant financial misconduct by the former Santa Cruz County Treasurer.” The potential misappropriation of funds may have come close to $40 million.
Earlier this year, former Santa Cruz County Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Gutfahr resigned her office, just days after Chase Bank flagged the financial irregularities. Multiple law enforcement jurisdictions are investigating the actions from the office over the past decade.
In a statement, Gress said, “The actions detailed in the Arizona Auditor General’s report are deeply disturbing and represent a significant betrayal of public trust. This case would stand as one of the worst instances of county financial misconduct in Arizona’s history, underscoring the need for more stringent oversight and accountability in the management of public resources. It is particularly concerning that, despite the County’s authorization, one of the County’s financial institutions may not have fully cooperated with the Auditor General’s investigation. Any refusal to provide additional information only heightens the severity of the situation and underscores the need for greater transparency.”
On August 26, Arizona Auditor General Lindsey Perry sent the report to Governor Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes, Members of the Arizona Legislature, the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors, and the Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. Perry’s report stated that “Our investigation revealed that from March 2014 through March 2024, the Treasurer allegedly took $39,472,100 when she made at least 182 unauthorized wire transfers from 2 County Treasurer’s Office bank accounts to business bank accounts connected to her. To help conceal her actions, the Treasurer allegedly failed to record her unauthorized wire transfers in the County Treasurer’s accounting system and lied to and/or provided numerous false investment statements, cash reconciliations, and Treasurer’s Reports to County entities, officials, and employees; a County financial consultant; and/or the Arizona Auditor General (Office).”
The report made nine recommendations to county officials and two to the Arizona Legislature.
Gress showed his willingness to work on legislation in the next session to help prevent this kind of situation from ever happening again in Arizona. He said, “I intend to introduce legislation in the next session that will expand the authority of the Arizona Auditor General, giving the office independent access to financial institution records directly from the institutions themselves. This will ensure that auditors have more tools necessary to uncover and address financial misconduct, even when internal controls fail. Additionally, I am considering introducing legislation to require newly elected or appointed county treasurers and their deputies to meet specific training requirements, better equipping them to manage public funds responsibly.”
The first-term legislator concluded his statement, writing, “I commend the diligence of the Auditor General’s Office and the law enforcement agencies involved in bringing these issues to light. Moving forward, it is imperative that the County implements the nine recommendations made by the Arizona Auditor General to establish stronger safeguards to prevent such abuses and ensure that public officials are held to the highest standards of integrity. We owe it to the citizens of Arizona to protect their hard-earned tax dollars from fraud and corruption by arming the Arizona Auditor General with additional tools to uncover financial misconduct.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
