Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors issues statement on missing funds investigation | News

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KVOA) – The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has issued a joint statement regarding the investigation of former County Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr.

The FBI is investigating an alleged loss of $4 million from the county’s treasury after the bank uncovered 11 suspicious transactions, each worth about $375,000, that went to a consulting firm in the name of the former treasurer.

Here is the statement from the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors:

“Santa Cruz County remains committed to transparency and supports the ongoing investigation involving the former County Treasurer and the County Treasurer’s Office. In the spirit of openness, we can share the following information without jeopardizing the ongoing work to investigate the financial irregularities. In April, our financial institution reported eleven irregular transactions valued at $375,000 each to the County. The County immediately took action to secure all accounts controlled by the Treasurer and the Treasurer’s Office and notified the appropriate authorities and entities of the irregularities.

In addition, the County, with the assistance of experienced outside legal and forensic accounting professionals, is conducting a comprehensive internal audit, which includes a full forensic financial investigation of the accounts managed by the County Treasurer.

The County also continues to fully cooperate and assist with separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI and the Arizona State Auditor General. Likewise, the County is cooperating and assisting with an investigation led by newly appointed County Treasurer Alejandro Paz and Deputy County Manager Mauricio Chavez. The investigation is assisted by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office and is focused on locating and reviewing all financial documents related to the County Treasurer.

In addition, the Board of Directors has engaged Booth Management to review the current District and Treasurer’s policies and procedures and recommend changes to strengthen oversight of all District Treasurer’s Office activities going forward.

At the direction of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the Treasurer and County Executive met with entities that are required by law to bank with the Treasurer. These entities include school districts, fire districts, provisional colleges, and the County. They were informed of the changes implemented to protect funds and that operations of the Treasurer’s Office will continue as usual.

The Board of Supervisors is doing everything in its power to safeguard the financial future of the County, to assist in uncovering possible misconduct, and to take appropriate action.”