Horne: ADE alerted Mayes of potential fraud cases

For immediate release: February 29, 2024
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Horne: ADE alerted Mayes of potential fraud cases

Attorney General’s assertion ADE was unaware is incorrect

PHOENIX – Contrary to an assertion made today by Attorney General Kris Mayes, State schools chief Tom Horne says the Department of Education alerted the Attorney General’s office to potentially fraudulent activity on the part of two of the three former Arizona Department of Education employees named in indictments handed up by the state grand jury.

Horne stated, “The Attorney General is not telling the truth when she states that the alleged criminal activities of former ADE employees did not raise flags in the department. In fact, the opposite is true. Our office did alert the Attorney General’s Office to concerns we discovered regarding Dorrian Jones and Jennifer Lopez. A credit union became suspicious of efforts of a third former employee, Delores Sweet, and they also reached out to the Attorney General’s Office. It is worth noting that these employees were hired under my Democrat predecessor whose oversight of the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program was lax. In fact, it was so loose that when I took office, I faced dozens of parents at State Board of Education meetings furious at me for placing more controls on expenses and spending requests.”

He added, “Our discovery of the activities of the two former staffers is consistent with my determination to root out potential fraud and abuse. When I took office in 2023, I hired a 19-year veteran of the Auditor General’s Office to oversee the financial structure of the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program. That person is now the director of that program. We also hired a full-time investigator with extensive law enforcement experience. In 2024 alone, we have referred seven instances of suspected fraud to the Attorney General’s Office and, despite her efforts to smear this department, we will continue to do so.”

He concluded, “I have absolutely zero tolerance for criminal activity on the part of any employee, contractor or vendor. The unfortunate fact is that the Department is not alone in having been victimized by fraud. According to the Auditor General’s Financial Investigation Reports and Fraud Prevention Alerts website, over the past 30 years there have been multiple incidents of fraud committed against government entities, including various state agencies, law enforcement and many school districts.”

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