A Cottonwood resident, Elaine Vowell, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to nine charges connected to a large fraud case investigated by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO).
Under a plea deal, the 42-year-old Vowell admitted to nine felonies including fraud, theft, forgery, and I.D. theft – all with a prior felony conviction on her record. Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Erickson handed down concurrent prison terms ranging from 2.5 to 10 years.
According to the YCSO investigation, Vowell worked for Noah’s Ark Roofing in Cottonwood when she used a company credit card for several unauthorized charges and rerouted several checks from roofing customers to her own personal account. Investigators said she took more than $30,000 from the firm over several months beginning in September 2021.