Santa Cruz County—Theft and Misuse of Public Monies

As part of its responsibility to prevent and detect fraud, Santa Cruz County management took appropriate action by reporting a fraud allegation to a law enforcement agency and to the Office of the Auditor General. The County subsequently requested our Office to investigate the fraud allegations, and we determined that from March through April 2015, Gary Shadrick, former landfill supervisor, may have violated state laws related to theft and misuse of public monies when he embezzled $8,233 of landfill receipts that should have been used to support county operations. We have submitted our report to the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office, which on September 15, 2017, filed a criminal complaint with the Nogales Justice Court alleging that Mr. Shadrick committed theft and misuse of public monies against the County.