An out-of-state couple was sentenced to incarceration on October 31 for stealing $110,258 from Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark H. Brain sentenced Johnny Bowers to 2.5 years in prison and his wife Ashley Hopkins to 14 days in jail after they pleaded guilty to charges. They will also be required to repay the money back.
According to records, the Colorado couple registered several of their eight children in the program, and created 43 additional ESA student accounts using fake names. They used forged birth certificates, fake utility bills and other documents.
An auditor was hired at the Arizona Department of Education in 2023 to root out fraud and abuse in the program, who caught the wrongdoing.
Both pleaded guilty to the Class 2 felony of fraudulent schemes. Bowers also pleaded guilty to the Class 4 felony of forgery.
Read the rest of the article at The Epoch Times Arizona
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