A state grand jury has indicted two out-of-state residents on multiple felony counts, including forgery, conspiracy and fraud, according to a news release from Attorney General Mayes' office.
According to the news release, Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt were indicted for allegedly submitting applications to Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program for children, both real and fake, with forged, false and fraudulent documentation.
Submitted documents, included birth certificates, utility bills and lease agreements.
Of the 50 applications they submitted, 43 of them did not exist. The two applied as parents under their own names, as well as under the names of made-up "ghost" parents, the news release said.
They received about $110,000 from the ESA program and used it as their personal living expenses in Colorado, the news release said.
The two now appear to be living in Utah.
The case was investigated by the Arizona Attorney General's Office Special Investigations Section.
