The former Santa Cruz County treasurer, Elizabeth Gutfahr, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to Embezzlement by a Public Official, Money Laundering, and Tax Evasion.
The 63-year-old Gutfahr’s prison sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay approximately $51.8 million in restitution to Santa Cruz County and the United States Treasury.
According to court documents, Gutfahr, who served as Santa Cruz County Treasurer from 2012 through 2024, embezzled and laundered approximately $38.7 million by wiring public funds from Santa Cruz County’s account to accounts in the names of fake companies she had created that performed no legitimate business. Gutfahr then used the money to purchase real estate, to renovate her family ranch, to pay expenses for her cattle business, and to buy at least 20 vehicles.
Gutfahr’s 10-year scheme involved approximately 187 wire transfers, which she was able to complete by undermining the two-step approval process required for transfers. Gutfahr used the token of a subordinate Santa Cruz County employee so that she could both initiate and approve the wire transfers. To cover up the scheme, Gutfahr falsified accounting records, cash reconciliation records, and reports of the County’s investment accounts, thereby hiding the millions of dollars that she had stolen from Santa Cruz County.
Gutfahr also failed to report any of the stolen funds as income for tax purposes.