Article Summary –
Arizona AG Kris Mayes charged two individuals with fraud in the state’s school voucher program for creating fake families and students to claim over $100,000. This case highlights ongoing oversight issues, with calls for more accountability. Similar fraud involving ADE employees was identified earlier.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced new fraud charges linked to the state’s school voucher program. Over $100,000 was given to phantom students with fake parental identities.
An investigation resulted in a grand jury indicting Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Merideth Hewitt on 60 counts of fraud, forgery, and money laundering. They allegedly forged documents like birth certificates for 50 students in Arizona, while residing in Colorado. Of these, 43 were “ghost children.”
The indictment reveals Bowers and Hewitt aimed to misuse funds from the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account Program for both real and fake children, funding personal expenses while residing in Colorado.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) awarded $110,000 to Bowers and Hewitt over 18 months, starting December 2022, after a legislative expansion of the voucher program. The program’s lack of oversight has led to widespread fraud and a consistent deficit in the education budget.
Superintendent Tom Horne noted his office suspected fraud and notified the Attorney General, leading to the investigation.
“As a former Attorney General, I am committed to eliminating fraud in the ESA program,” Horne stated. “I’m pleased prosecutions are underway in cases we forwarded to the Attorney General.”
Earlier this year, three ADE employees faced charges for allegedly defrauding over $600,000 using a more efficient scheme. Prosecutors allege they forged documents for 17 students, using real child information before adding fake students post-voucher expansion.
Arizona Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, advocates for greater oversight of the voucher program, arguing the ongoing fraud proves the need for accountability. As a teacher and Education Committee member, she highlights a double standard between public school scrutiny and voucher spending leniency.
“There are no real safeguards against fraud, no real way to determine fund usage,” Gutierrez told The Copper Courier. “This won’t be the last fraud, and I’m grateful Attorney General Mayes intervened.”
Gutierrez proposed legislation to regulate voucher spending akin to public school spending, but Republican leadership rejected them immediately.
Bowers and Hewitt managed to enroll numerous nonexistent students, benefiting financially for years. The indictment names 30 fictitious students and details a complicated family network they created, each with multiple children receiving voucher funds allegedly used for personal expenses.
Bowers and Hewitt must appear in court, though no date is set.
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