This is a developing story.
Arizona Auditor General Lindsey A. Perry filed a counter-complaint against Santa Cruz County, numerous elected County officials and employees past and present on April 3 in the State Superior Court in Maricopa County.
Those named in the counter-complaint include a former Santa Cruz County manager, a former chief deputy treasurer, a former senior secretary and a former tax clerk, all of whom, the counter-complaint alleges, benefited financially from former Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr’s $38 million embezzlement.
Details of the Auditor General’s counter-complaint were first reported in the Nogales International on Friday.
The Auditor General’s counter-complaint is in response to Santa Cruz County’s November, 2024 civil lawsuit which claimed the Auditor General “was grossly negligent and did not exercise reasonable care in failing to uncover Gutfahr’s actions over a span of ten years.”
Here is the Auditor General’s 59-page counter-complaint:
The County Board of Supervisors issued a press release late Friday afternoon responding to the Auditor General’s counter-complaint, which the County claimed it was served with on Tuesday, April 15.
Here is the Supervisors’ press release:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ISSUES STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO AUDITOR GENERAL’S COUNTER COMPLAINT
On April 15, 2025, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors was served with a counter complaint from Lindsey A. Perry, Auditor General of the State of Arizona. This countersuit is a response to the county’s complaint against the Auditor General on November 14, 2024, and is regarding the embezzlement of more than $38 million by former Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has issued the following statements:
“We are disappointed, but not surprised by the filing of this counter complaint,” said Supervisor Molera. “Rather than addressing the serious concerns raised in our original filing, the Auditor General has chosen to deflect attention through retaliatory tactics.”
-Supervisor Rudy Molera, District 2“It’s disheartening to see the Auditor General respond not with accountability, but with a counter complaint that seeks to distract from the real issues at hand. It is a tactic both negligent in its disregard for the truth and frivolous in its attempt to deflect responsibility.”
— Supervisor John Fanning, District 3“This response is a clear attempt to avoid taking responsibility. They continue to target and scapegoat the smallest and one of the poorest counties in the state, along with a new board fighting for transparency, accountability, and real answers for our community.”
— Supervisor Luis Carlos Davis, District 1Further updates will be provided as the case progresses.