Former Santa Cruz County Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling and laundering more than $38 million in public funds.
She was sentenced in federal court in Tucson, Arizona, by District Judge Rosemary C. Márquez.
The case is one of Arizona’s largest government embezzlement scandals in history.
Gutfahr served as Santa Cruz County Treasurer from 2012 until her resignation in 2024.
During this time, she allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to embezzle nearly $40 million from county funds.
The 63-year-old pleaded guilty back in November to charges of embezzlement by a public official, money laundering, and tax evasion, allowing her to avoid a trial.
The FBI & IRS found that Gutfahr initiated about 187 unauthorized wire transfers from Santa Cruz County’s bank accounts, bypassing the required two-step approval process by using the authentication token of one of her employees – meaning she was able to both initiate and approve the transactions.
The embezzled funds were funneled into accounts under the names of fake companies that she created.
Gutfahr spent the money on:
Purchasing real estate properties
Renovating her family ranch
Covering expenses for her cattle business
Buying at least 20 vehicles and
Acquiring homes in Mexico and Pinetop, Arizona, as well as a horse ranch
The total amount embezzled was about $38.7 million.
Judge Márquez sentenced Gutfahr to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Her plea agreement was for 5.25 to 6.5 years but the judge thought she deserved more time behind bars.
She was also ordered to pay about $51.8 million in restitution. She was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals after sentencing.
The FBI and IRS started their investigation after Chase Bank contacted them about unusual transactions.
