2 people from out of state plead guilty to defrauding Arizona school voucher program
Johnny Bowers and Meredith Hewitt pleaded guilty to defrauding Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program of more than $110,000.
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PHOENIX — Two people from out of state have pleaded guilty to defrauding the Arizona school voucher program of more than $110,000, officials announced Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Johnny Lee Bowers pleaded guilty to two felony counts — fraudulent schemes and artifices and forgery — according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
His co-defendant, Ashley Meredith Hewitt, who also went by Ashley Hopkins, pleaded guilty to a felony count of fraudulent schemes and artifices on Aug. 5.
The pair stole more than $110,000 from Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program between December 2022 and May 2024 while living in Colorado.
“Fraud in the ESA program will not be tolerated,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release. “Those who exploit government systems for personal gain will be held accountable.”
How did couple defraud Arizona school voucher program?
Bowers and Hewitt submitted ESA applications for 50 children, 43 of whom do not exist, and used forged documents, including birth certificates, utility bills and lease agreements, according to prosecutors.
The pair submitted the documents under their own names and the names of fake “ghost” parents.
In total, Bowers and Hewitt received $110,258.28 from the ESA program.
When the duo was indicted in November, prosecutors said the money was used for personal expenses.
Bowers and Hewitt are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 24.
State superintendent says his office found school voucher fraud
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said Wednesday his office noticed the fraudulent activity in 2024 through a method called risk-based auditing and referred it for prosecution.
“To date, we have collected or referred for collection more than $622,000 in improper purchases under the program, where purchases for under $2,000 are paid but not approved immediately, subject to later audit,” Horne said in a press release.
Horne added that his office has 12 employees who review up to 500 ESA purchases each day.
“Without this program, reimbursements for expenditures would take over two months, putting a terrible burden on parents who have paid money and are entitled to reimbursements,” he said. “I am committed to doing everything possible to protect taxpayer resources and root out fraud and abuse.”
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Comments
5 Comments
$110k? 43 kids that do not exist? Speaks for itself, there is no verification process, just a check-cutting mill to reinforce a wrong-headed political dogma. Instead of lauding himself, Horne should stop any new requests until every single current on is verified, first for actual students, 2nd for appropriate and reasonable expenditures.
Just the tip of the iceberg.
Totally agree. Unfortunately, old buzzard Horne will just retort (with some legitimacy) that he doesn't have the staff to properly screen every ESA request. Another shovel full of cr@p, courtesy of the the state legislature and former Guv Dug, to put money in the pockets of the affluent (or the scammers) while giving the finger to public education.