Pine-Strawberry, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted a former bookkeeper for allegedly stealing more than $841,000 from the Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District and Sunny Mountain Realty, a private business. Rebecca Sigeti, 60, is currently facing 40 felony charges including Theft, Misuse of Public Monies, and Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices.
According to an investigation by the Office of the Auditor General, Sigeti embezzled more than $841,000 from her employers by issuing authorized checks to herself for her own personal use. Sigeti is alleged to have stolen $524,686 from the Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District and $316,370 from the Sunny Mountain Realty.
The alleged embezzled district monies came from customer security deposits and water-use payments as well as taxpayer property tax payments that should have been used to support district operations. Sigeti also is alleged to have forged the signatures of Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District Board Members.