By Kiera Riley | State Affairs
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed its first criminal charge related to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program following the Arizona Department of Education’s decision to start sending referrals to the county, as opposed to the attorney general.
On Dec. 29, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office charged Sara Brown with one count of forgery for allegedly submitting a forged medical verification letter to the Department of Education.
The charge, a class 4 felony, carries a mitigated sentence of one year and a minimum sentence of a year and a half.
The court docket provided no detailed description of the alleged crime, and Brown was not charged with any fraud related to funding.
But, if a student proves a disability diagnosis, they can qualify for additional award dollars.
A universal enrollee typically gets anywhere from $7,000 to $8,999, while a student with a disability can qualify for more than $30,000.
