Reprinted from Sarah Lapidus • Arizona Republic
PHOENIX, AZ (Oct. 22, 2024) – A court-appointed financial professional will manage all property owned by the son and daughter-in-law of Santa Cruz County’s former treasurer, who is facing a lawsuit for allegedly embezzling roughly $39 million in public funds.
That’s according to a Pima County Superior Court order Monday, which broadened the receivership over former Santa Cruz County Treasurer Elizabeth Gutfahr’s assets. A receivership is a process where a court-appointed official is charged with taking control of assets to preserve, maintain or sell them.
It came after Santa Cruz County alleged in court documents that her son, Davian Gutfahr, and his wife, Ana Gutfahr, benefitted and lived off the allegedly stolen funds. Davian Gutfahr, 36, is a partner in his mother’s numerous companies.
”"Elizabeth Gutfahr engaged in a decade-long scheme to steal upwards of $38,500,000 from the County and funneled a large portion of the County’s money towards funding Davian and Ana’s unearned, yet lavish, lifestyle," Santa Cruz County said in documents filed with the court.
The county said that lifestyle included spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal items including shoes, watches, purses, expensive clothing, dinners, vacations to Disneyland and Universal Studios, and hosting large events at Top Golf and various resorts. The couple also allegedly lived in Elizabeth Gutfahr’s properties rent-free and drove vehicles in Elizabeth’s name, including a Mercedes G Class sport utility vehicle, a late model Ford F-250 truck, and utility terrain vehicles among others, according to the court documents
”"The monthly spending habits of Davian and Ana were unrestrained and excessive by any standards," the county said in court documents.
Keith Bierman of MCA Financial Group was appointed as receiver over Elizabeth Gutfahr’s assets in August. Since being appointed, Bierman petitioned the court to sell Gutfahr’s cattle, 17 properties and other assets.
He obtained records from American Express dating back to August 2018 showing Davian and Ana charged over $2 million on credit cards that Elizabeth paid for with county funds, according to court records.
Bierman also told the court he found evidence that Elizabeth transferred $42,572 to her son for ten “labor” tasks from May 2021 through January 2024, as part of a home renovation.
The county argued a need for a receiver to protect and preserve property Davian and Ana purchased with county funds, claiming Davian was untrustworthy. The county noted after the news of Gutfahr’s alleged embezzlement became public, Davian procured a $20,000 refund check from Jacobson Custom Homes.
”“At that point, a trustworthy person would have alerted authorities to the location of potentially stolen assets ... Davian did the opposite, and surreptitiously attempted to procure those assets for himself and his wife," said the county in court records. "Davian cannot be trusted, and the Court should appoint a Receiver to protect the County from any further malfeasance by Davian or Ana."
The court scheduled a hearing Nov. 1 to decide whether the receivership should be made permanent.
Who is Elizabeth Gutfahr?
Before becoming treasurer, Elizabeth had a background in real estate. She first ran as the Democratic candidate for Santa Cruz County treasurer in 2012. She won a narrow three-way primary in which she garnered 43% of the vote and won the general election in November 2012. Gutfahr was reelected in 2016 and 2020 and planned to run unopposed in the 2024 election until the county sued her over the alleged embezzlement.
The investigation came to light in April after the county’s bank flagged suspicious activity leading to investigations by the county, state and federal agencies.
Criminal investigations remain ongoing.
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