Suzanne Perkins, former office administrator and governing board clerk at Thunderbird Irrigation Water Delivery District of Pinal County, has been indicted on 9 felony counts related to theft, misuse of public monies, fraudulent schemes, and forgery.
The charges follow an investigation by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office.
Perkins was the District’s office administrator and governing board clerk from 1998 until her resignation in 2013. She was responsible for all accounting functions, including signing warrants, which was also a duty of the Board of Trustees. During Ms. Perkins’ entire District employment, her husband was a Board of Trustees member.
The District is responsible for irrigation wells throughout 720 acres in Pinal County and is governed by a 3-member Board of Trustees. The most recent annual report the District submitted to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors was for fiscal year 2016 and reported $168,292 of tax revenues and $43,763 of customer water service payments.
The Arizona Auditor General’s Office investigation found that from March 2006 through October 2012, Ms. Perkins allegedly issued District warrants, many with at least 1 forged signature, for personal purposes totaling $278,371.
According to the Auditor General’s Office, Perkins paid for $172,569 worth of personal credit card, District credit card, and District line of credit charges and issued warrants totaling $105,802 payable to her family members that were deposited or endorsed to her and her husband’s joint personal checking account.