NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — According to a Santa Cruz County press release, the county sued former county treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr for allegedly embezzling at least $39,412,000 over the course of a 10-year period.
The county was made aware of 11 fraudulent transactions in the amount of $375,000 each, each reported by the financial institution JPMorganChase. The findings prompted investigations from multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Justice, Department of Justice, and Santa Cruz County.
Santa Cruz County then filed a civil lawsuit in the Pima County Superior Court against the former treasurer.
“Though this is a significant amount of money for our community, we will do everything in our power to avoid impact to the day-to-day operations of the entities that rely on funding from the County, and we will continue to provide straightforward updates as things progress,” the county said in the press release.
The county also announced it will continue to fully cooperate and assist with separate investigations being conducted by the United States Department of Justice and FBI.
