TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Ten years of stealing millions in taxpayer money has led to ten years in Federal Prison for former Santa Cruz County treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr.
She stole more than 38 million dollars from Santa Cruz County taxpayers.
Elizabeth Gutfahr pleaded guilty to embezzlement and tax evasion in November.
As she headed to Federal court Monday she knew her attorney and prosecutors had agreed to ask the judge for no more than six and a half years in prison but Judge Rosemary Marquez applied some aggravating factors that kicked the sentence to ten years to run at the same time as two other lesser sentences.
Gutfahr is in custody now.
She stayed free for many months before her sentence, in part to help efforts to sell things bought with stolen money and get that money back to Santa Cruz County. The inventory includes a large ranch with luxurious house.
In court documents, Gutfahr’s own defense attorney Josh Hamilton described her crimes as “one of the dumbest, ill-conceived, short-sighted, and most audacious crimes in Arizona state history.” Hamilton said Gutfahr did very little to cover up the crimes but they still went undiscovered for roughly ten years.
In court, just before sentencing, Gutfahr and her attorney said she’s truly sorry. But Prosecutors pointed out she had plenty of time for a conscience to kick in during ten years of sending taxpayer money to her personal accounts.
People from Santa Cruz County came to Tucson Federal Court to see what Gutfahr’s punishment would be. Bonnie Titre was thinking about money Gutfahr took that was not available for schools that needed repairs.
”I like the fact that she got restitution, and I like the fact the judge mentioned she had cried about her grandchildren, but she said kids in Santa Cruz County are outside playing in the sun because the money she took from the citizens."
Wendy Islas says the case is more than a matter of missing money, it’s missing trust in all of Santa Cruz County government.
“I think that that mistrust is going to last quite some time. People want to see transparency. People want to see accountability. There are other incidents in our county that contribute to that. So absolutely, unfortunately, it will be a lasting effect.”
Gutfahr’s attorney said she was depressed, not thinking clearly and the she thought she could use the stolen money to build an ideal life for her family then make enough in business ventures to repay the money before anyone noticed.
Her sentence requires her to pay more than 13 million dollars in back income taxes, and pay back the more than 38 million dollars she stole. A specialist appointed in a related court case has been working to recover the stolen money but so far estimates he might be able to recover about a third of what Gutfahr stole.
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