The owner of a payroll service in Sierra Vista that worked with some of Cochise County’s largest private companies is under investigation for misappropriating more than $1 million of its clients’ money and providing those clients fraudulent IRS payment receipts, according to public records.
In March, Arizona Daily Independent reported that Daystar Payroll LLC and its owner Patricia Bowman were the subject of a Sierra Vista Police Department investigation involving fraud and theft allegations. At the time, four former clients had provided financial records of alleged embezzlement to Det. John Papatrefon, the lead investigator.
However, four additional Daystar Payroll clients came forward following news coverage of the investigation and now the amount of allegedly misappropriated funds stands at more than $1.1 million, Papatrefon says. Nearly half of that amount was purportedly embezzled from one client.
In addition, public records show the IRS Criminal Investigations Division is interested in Daystar after allegations were made by some clients that Bowman presented them with fraudulent payment confirmation records.
Among the eight victims in Papatrefon’s investigation is Sonora River Electric LLC which is involved in large-scale electric energy projects. The company, owned by Victor and Judith Lopez, claims nearly $537,000 it provided to Daystar for tax payments is unaccounted for dating back to 2017.
Sonora River’s August 2019 theft report with hundreds of supporting financial documents was initially handled by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office because the company is based outside the Sierra Vista city limits. However, the sheriff’s office investigation was transferred to Papatrefon in March to be handled along with the alleged victims, according to CCSO spokeswoman Carol Capas.
Among the other former Daystar clients cooperating with the SVPD investigation is Canyon State Wireless which claims $146,000 of its money was never submitted by Daystar to the IRS and Arizona Department of Revenue dating back to 2016. Attorneys for the company filed a lawsuit last month seeking a civil judgment against Bowman and her company of at least $146,020 plus attorney’s fees.
Public records show criminal charges are expected to be filed against Bowman once Papatrefon receives certified copies of bank records for all of affected Daystar clients. In the meantime, Bowman is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.
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