The county is suing its former treasurer to recover millions of dollars that were allegedly stolen.
Santa Cruz County, Arizona — Santa Cruz County The university is suing a former financial officer for embezzling more than $39 million.
In a statement released Friday, county supervisors said they will file a lawsuit in Pima County against Elizabeth Gutfer to recover funds allegedly stolen from the small Arizona county.
In a lawsuit filed against him, county officials accuse Gutfer of withdrawing money from county savings accounts and transferring it to corporations and bank accounts he controlled. For a decade, the former treasurer used county funds as his “piggy bank” and used them to fund a lavish lifestyle, the lawsuit says.
According to the county complaint, Gutphard allegedly concealed the embezzlement by falsifying investment statements and only transferring funds at certain times of the year.
The lawsuit alleges that Gutfahr falsified bank statements for UBS, an international company that handled some of the county's funds, though county officials don't know exactly how. But the suit alleges that Gutfahr falsified contact details for the bank so that they were traced to “representatives” of Gutfahr.
One of the addresses listed is a single-family home in Rio Rico, the other a post office box in the small town of Tumacacori.
County officials said they first became aware of 11 fraudulent transactions totaling $375,000 in April and launched an FBI investigation.
According to the lawsuit, a Chase representative called the then-councillor about “suspicious transactions.” The mayor told the representative she should talk to Gutfer. The Chase representative said it was Gutfer's transactions that they were concerned about.
Gutfer resigned as county treasurer on April 12, citing health and personal reasons, but the county's lawsuit alleges he resigned after the theft was discovered.
In total, the county believes it has lost more than $39 million, plus another $1 million in interest.
Gutfer did not respond to a request from 12News.
Santa Cruz County Administrator Jesus Valdez released the following statement:
“Last week, Santa Cruz County filed a civil lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court against former Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfer, alleging that she embezzled at least $39,412,000 from the County. We appreciate the Court's decision to appoint a temporary receiver in response to this case. The receiver's role will be to take custody, control and protect the assets at issue and ensure they are preserved and handled appropriately during the County's legal proceedings against Gutfer and her associates. Our goal is to recover as many of the stolen funds as possible on behalf of our community.”
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