Attorney General Mayes Announces Indictments of Two Out of State Residents for ESA Program Fraud

PHOENIX - Attorney General Mayes today announced that a state grand jury has indicted two out of state residents on multiple felony counts including conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt, a.k.a. Ashley Hopkins, allegedly submitted applications to Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program for children, both real and fictitious, with false, forged, or fraudulent documentation (i.e. birth certificates, utility bills, and/or lease agreements.)

They submitted applications for 50 children, 43 of whom did not exist. They applied as parents under their own names as well as under the names of made-up "ghost" parents. In total, the defendants received about $110,000 from the ESA Program and used the money for their own personal living expenses in Colorado. Hewitt and Bowers now appear to be residing in Utah.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Haleigh Farrelly and was investigated by the Arizona Attorney General's Office Special Investigations Section.

A copy of the indictment is available below. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.