PHOENIX (AP) - A former business manager for a joint technological education district in Mohave County has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for stealing nearly $140,000 from the district.
State prosecutors say Deborah Long also must pay the Western Arizona Vocational Educational District #50 full restitution plus about $31,000 for WAVE's costs related to the investigation.
Long was responsible for receiving payments, managing accounts receivable, processing payroll and reconciling credit card statements for the district.
Between November 2011 last August 2018, Long was accused of stealing $139,284.
Prosecutors say Long gave herself a salary increase, paid herself for fraudulent travel expenses, misdirected checks payable to WAVE and stole donations, tuition and other payments from students or community members.
Long evaded detection by falsifying the accounting software and not recording receipts.
