A former employee of the Gadsden Elementary School District in Yuma County is set to stand trial next year after pleading not guilty to charges she altered the District’s payroll system to give herself free health insurance.
Carolina Carrazco of San Luis is charged with seven felonies, including fraudulent schemes, misuse of public monies, and four counts of computer tampering. She worked for the District as a payroll specialist, giving her access to establishing employee deductions and withholdings.
Court records show Carrazco, 47, was indicted by a state grand jury in August following an investigation by the Arizona Auditor General. She is currently out of custody awaiting trial. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General John Hudson.
Judge Roger A. Bruce Nelson of the Yuma County Superior Court held a case management conference earlier this month at which time he scheduled Carrazco’s next court hearing for Jan. 6, 2022. A trial date is expected to be set at that time.
Nelson previously advised Carrazco of her responsibility to be present for all future proceedings. Any failure to appear could result in a proceedings to be held regardless of the defendant’s absence, “up to and including the Defendant being found guilty at trial.”
Carrazco was also advised that a voluntary failure to appear for any hearing will result in the issuance of a bench warrant for her arrest.
Earlier this month Yuma-based attorney Michael Donovan filed a Notice of Defenses on behalf of Carrazco, who intends to challenge the charges on the grounds of insufficiency of the evidence as well as involuntary statements. The notice also provides a preview of the witnesses Donovan intends to call to testify at trial, including four of Carrazco’s former co-workers at Gadsden Elementary School District.
According to the indictment, Carrazco knowingly engaged in an ongoing scheme from October 2017 through August 2019 to obtain “a benefit by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or material omissions” by allegedly tampering with the District’s payroll computer management system. This allowed her to avoid paying insurance premiums for health care coverage for herself and dependents.
The same conduct is cited as the basis for a charge of misuse of public monies in violation of the duties of a fiscal custodian, as well as a charge of felony theft with a value exceeding $4,000.
The other four felonies cover specific activities undertaken in support of the overall alleged fraud. The first offense occurred in Fall 2017 when Carrazco allegedly accessed the District’s payroll system and altered the system so that health insurance premiums were not deducted from her pay.
Then Carrazco purportedly altered the District’s payroll system once again some time before January 2019 to provide proof of insurance coverage for taxes. This was allegedly followed later in 2019 by another alteration of the payroll system to once again stop the deduction of health insurance premiums from Carrazco’s paychecks.
The final offense involves Carrrazco’s alleged actions on Aug. 14, 2019 by accessing the Gadsden Elementary School District’s payroll system so that health insurance premiums were deducted from her pay. This occurred “as a result of being questioned by her supervisor,” according to the indictment.
