A former ASU employee, Carlos Urrea, has been indicted by
a grand jury on 14 felonies after the Arizona Auditor General found evidence he embezzled nearly $125,000.
Urrea, a former manager of information technology, provided support to the university’s executive administration, including President Michael Crow’s office.
In its finding, the Auditor General’s Office found that “Although ASU had appropriate p-card policies and procedures, Executive Administration officials allowed Mr. Urrea to bypass them either because those procedures reportedly took too long for Mr. Urrea to do his job of providing immediate IT-related equipment to senior leadership or because enforcement of policies would have negatively affected Mr. Urrea’s support of senior leadership. Specifically, officials allowed Mr. Urrea to use his p-card for purchases that typically went through the procurement process; allowed him to make p-card purchases without obtaining prior approval; allowed him to submit vague business purposes; allowed him to submit receipts 2 to 3 months late; and failed to enforce the Executive Administration’s policy that restricted p-card spending to $1.00 when receipts were not submitted within 30 days.”
Urrea, who admitted to auditors that his actions were “very dumb,” used his university-issued credit card to purchase two Christmas trees, 12 gaming consoles, 10 smartwatches and 11 Costco gift cards worth $1,000 apiece.
From June 2017 through December 2021, Mr. Urrea used his ASU p-card to make 810 personal purchases totaling $124,093 for gift cards, electronics and accessories, household items and furniture, appliances, gaming products, fitness and recreation, and warranties. Examples of his purchases include 12 gaming consoles, 11 $1,000 Costco Shop Cards, 10 smart watches, 2 Christmas trees, a washer and dryer, treadmill, and row machine.
Mr. Urrea acknowledged to us that he used his ASU p-card for personal purchases, claiming he was trying to support his family and provide for his kids, but further stated it was “very dumb” on his part.