Five people indicted for ESA voucher fraud

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on Thursday that the State Grand Jury has indicted five people for allegedly engaging in fraud related to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program.

These individuals allegedly engaged in fraud, conspiracy, computer tampering, illegally conducting an enterprise, money laundering, and forgery related to the ESA Program.

Dolores Lashay Sweet, Dorrian Lamarr Jones, Jennifer Lopez, Jadakah Celeste Johnson, and Raymond Lamont Johnson, Jr. are among the five accused of multiple felonies.

The press release stated that Sweet, Jones, and Lopez are former employees of the Arizona Department of Education.

While Jadakah Johnson and Raymond Lamont Johnson, Jr. are the adult children of Dolores Lashay Sweet.

The press release said the indictments were filed this week in the Maricopa County Superior Court.

It alleged that the goal of the conspiracy was for the defendants to obtain funds and/or property from the ESA program for personal use, said the press release.

These defendants approved ESA applications for minor students, both real and fictitious, and admitted them into the program by using false, forged, or fraudulent documentation.

The press release also mentioned they awarded those students' accounts ESA funds and approved expenses for reimbursement or funds for distribution on behalf of those students for their own benefit.

The Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia released a statement in response.

"As every new headline makes clear, Arizona's ESA voucher program has been a complete disaster. The utter lack of accountability and transparency makes this program ripe for fraud and abuse. And yet ESA voucher proponents have blocked even the most basic, common-sense safeguards. It's time to rein in the ESA voucher program before it spins even further out of control."

Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia

The Arizona Attorney General's Office investigated this case.

The investigation is ongoing.