Arizona Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes to Launch Criminal Investigation into Gov. Katie Hobbs for Bribery and Fraud

 

by Jim Hᴏft 

June 7, 2024 8:30 am

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Credit: Flickr

Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes, who “won” the 2022 election by 280 votes from Trump-endorsed Abe Hamadeh, will launch a criminal investigation into Governor Katie Hobbs over a pay-to-play scheme.

As reported by The Gateway Pundit, these allegations stem from significant donations made to a dark money group, which was used for Hobbs’ inaugural events, potentially influencing state contract decisions.

Hobbs’ ethical conduct was called into question by GOP State Legislators after she solicited donations of up to $250,000 using a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group for inaugural events.

Interestingly, the nonprofit used by Hobbs shares an address with Coppersmith Brockelman PLC, the Democrat law firm that represented her in Kari Lake’s lawsuit challenging the 2022 midterm election results.

Among the donors to Hobbs’ inauguration were Sunshine Residential Homes and its affiliates, who contributed significant sums only to later receive a rate increase for their youth group home services.

According to The Arizona Republic reporter, Stacey Barchenger, “DCS approved what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day, meaning potentially millions of dollars more going to the company at taxpayers’ expense.”

Interestingly, no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.

Sunshine Residential Homes initially sought a 20% rate increase in December 2022 but was denied by DCS on February 6, 2023. Just three days later, Sunshine donated $100,000 to a dark-money fund created by Hobbs’ campaign. Notably, the company had only recently begun contributing to political campaigns in Arizona.

Sunshine made two six-figure donations totaling 200,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party when Hobbs was running for governor. Additionally, Sunshine’s CEO and his wife personally donated nearly the maximum amount, 5,000 each, to Hobbs’ campaign. After Hobbs’ election, the company donated another $200,000, half of which went directly to Hobbs’ inauguration fund through her dark money group.

Sunshine’s Director of Programs, who had previously worked for DCS for a decade before joining Sunshine in 2022, also donated $5,000 to Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign on the same day as his boss.

Republican Sen. TJ Shope, who leads the Arizona Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, has issued letters to both Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, urging them to launch an investigation into the “pay-to-play scheme” involving Governor Katie Hobbs’ Office, the Arizona Department of Child Safety, and certain political donors, according to KJZZ.

Sen. Shope suggested that these transactions might breach multiple laws, including those related to bribery and conflicts of interest.

Today’s article on @azcentral by @sbarchenger brings many legal questions that are both criminal and civil in nature. I call for @AZAGMayes and/or Maricopa County Attorney @Rachel1Mitchell to investigate this matter. We must find the truth of what @GovernorHobbs knew and at what… pic.twitter.com/CVbyU6vnSs

— T.J. Shope (@TJShope) June 6, 2024

Now, the Arizona State Attorney General’s office has confirmed that it “will be opening an investigation” into these allegations, AZ Central reported.

“Thank you for your referral dated June 5, 2024, regarding Sunshine Residential Homes. The Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office is statutorily authorized to investigate the allegations and offenses outlined in your letter. To that end, the Attorney General’s Office will be opening an investigation,” wrote Mayes’ criminal division chief, Nick Klingerman.

She’s being investigated by the Democrat attorney general Kris Mayes pic.twitter.com/vgmjdUjLmP

— Nico Delgado (@NicoDelgadoAZ) June 7, 2024

Jim Hᴏft

Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft's articles here.

Katie Hobbs In Hot Water...

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EXCLUSIVE: Democrat Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Under Fire After $339 Million “Disappeared” from State Budget as Hobbs’ Budget Director Mysteriously Resigns

by Jordan Conradson Jan. 31, 2025 5:20 pm1141 Comments

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Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Arizona State Representative Alex Kolodin called Arizona’s illegitimate Democrat governor out in a letter to her office Thursday after $339 million “disappeared” from the state budget.

Kolodin told The Gateway Pundit, “Maybe somebody’s siphoning off some funds.” He clarified, “Maybe some are mistakes. Who knows? But they don’t match up.”

This is not the first, nor the second, time Hobbs has come under scrutiny for mismanagement or corruption involving large sums of money.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, in November, Hobbs was in the spotlight after her Office of Tourism awarded a $700,000 contract to create a hideous new state logo to a company with close ties to the agency’s director.

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“Hobbs’ fake director of tourism has been caught funneling MASSIVE contracts to her own brother,” State Senator Jake Hoffman said. “Katie Hobbs continues to exploit her office, break the law, and take advantage of the people of Arizona.”

Previously, Hobbs came under fire for other questionable contract decisions after accepting significant donations made to a dark money group that was used for Hobbs’ inaugural events in 2023 and appeared to influence state contract decisions. Hobbs reportedly received $400,000 from a company that later made millions in return.

Former Arizona Attorney General Democrat Terry Goddard even agreed that an investigation by law enforcement is warranted, and the Democrat Attorney General and Republican Maricopa County Attorney launched probes into the apparent quid pro quo.

Kolodin notes in his letter to Hobbs that the apparent pay-for-play scheme involving her inaugural fund "remains under investigation by the Attorney General's and Maricopa County Attorney's office."

"This missing money was, seems like it could be connected to the inaugural fund, which has already been a subject of legislative investigation," Kolodin told us.

"It at least raises the appearance of a quid pro quo. The legislature is going to have to dig into this more to figure out whether it is, and if so, what changes we need to make to our budget process to account with the fact that we're dealing with this administration."

Arizona State Representative Alex Kolodin fired off a letter "Re: Mismanagement of State Funds and Agencies; Pressing Budget Questions" to Hobbs on Thursday.

"$339m disappeared from Arizona's budget, and I have questions for Katie Hobbs!" Kolodin said on X:

$339m disappeared from Arizona's budget and I have questions for Katie Hobbs! pic.twitter.com/1xTJHUrwcA

— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) January 30, 2025

In his letter, Kolodin outlines his surprise that "the Legislature was informed the State has several insolvent agencies and requires a $339 million bailout to close out the current Fiscal Year." He continues, "Since your liaisons dedicated to briefing members of the Legislature failed to provide detail on how we got here, I am putting my request in writing: Arizonans deserve to know the details."

Much of the controversy surrounds an expansion to the state's Medicaid agency, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCS), which Kolodin says Hobbs did "unilaterally" without informing the legislature during budget negotiations.

"In the last budget cycle, when she submitted her draft budget when the legislature was negotiating her budget with her, she never told us that she was intending to approve a major expansion of ACCHS, which somehow she can do unilaterally, at least, to approve the expansion," Kolodin told The Gateway Pundit.

"As a consequence, that expansion was never budgeted for. But once the budget got passed, she did it and started sucking that money out of the state treasury for that expansion. So, it siphoned off a whole bunch of money that was supposed to go to other things."

He added, "She didn't tell us when we were negotiating the budget because she was trying to be sneaky and go around us."

Also concerning is the resignation of Hobbs' budget director contemporaneous with the new discovery. "Somebody had to take the fall," said Kolodin.

He continued, "From talking to colleagues and staff about the budget process and about this year's budget process, it's become very apparent to me that the line between malice and incompetence, with respect to the Hobbs administration's capabilities to competently negotiate a budget with us, is a line that is hard to parse."

"Her office, either they have no idea what they're doing, or they're like incredibly evil with a tinge of stupidity. And it's very hard to tell the difference, but essentially, they make basic accounting mistakes that lead to absolutely huge divergences between her budget and reality."

Hobbs again "refused to account for" an additional $60 million in state liabilities for Arizona schools, which "everybody knew about," including Hobbs, said Kolodin. Still, she failed to account for this large obligation in her budget negotiations and spending.

Kolodin asks the following questions to Hobbs:

Why did you mislead the legislature about the spending you intended to approve?

Why did your budget team refuse to work with us to budget for a known cost?

Who in your orbit is profiting off of Arizona's children?

Why has your budget director taken the fall?

"I think it's probably time for at least a a first step in a more formal investigation," Kolodin told us, noting that he needs a legislative committee chair to back him up and launch a formal investigation.

This is a developing story. 

Jordan Conradson

Jordan Conradson, formerly TGP’s Arizona correspondent, is currently on assignment in Washington DC. Jordan has played a critical role in exposing fraud and corruption in Arizona's elections and elected officials. His reporting on election crimes in Maricopa County led to the resignation of one election official, and he was later banned from the Maricopa County press room for his courage in pursuit of the truth. TGP and Jordan finally gained access after suing Maricopa County, America's fourth largest county, and winning at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Conradson looks forward to bringing his aggressive style of journalism to the Swamp.

You can email Jordan Conradson here, and read more of Jordan Conradson's articles here.

 

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