Arizona's efforts to combat fraud in its school voucher program have resulted in the indictment of two individuals, Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt, also known as 'Ashley Hopkins,' accused of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme involving fictional students. According to a report by FOX 10 Phoenix, the two submitted applications for 50 children to Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program, 43 of whom did not exist, and used allegedly over $100,000 for personal living expenses.
The indictment includes a count of conspiracy, a count of fraudulent schemes, and artifices, along with 58 counts of forgery. Living in Utah now, investigators claim Bowers and Hewitt received about $110,000 from the ESA Program and spent it on personal living expenses in Colorado, FOX 10 Phoenix reports. The alleged nefarious activities spanned from 2022 to 2024.
The recent crackdown on voucher fraud has sparked a response from Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. "The Department of Education submitted this matter to the Attorney General‘s office and submitted all the other matters currently under criminal investigation, except one, which was discovered by a credit union." He added, "As a former Arizona Attorney General, I am determined as Superintendent to eliminate any fraud within the ESA program," Horne said, in a statement obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office announced the indictments, seems critical of the ESA program and its previous regulatory measures. According to a 12 News report, the Democrat has pointed out the lack of controls regulating the public funds. This matter comes as school vouchers are increasingly becoming a point of contention, with the state's Republican leaders advocating for the program's expansion, arguing its benefits for parental choice in education.
In light of the developments, Superintendent Horne expressed satisfaction with the process, "I am pleased that prosecutions are following in the cases we sent to The Attorney General’s office," he told FOX 10 Phoenix.
