Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted Leah Chavez, a former town clerk, for allegedly stealing more than $30,000 from the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. Chavez, 39, is charged with 10 felony counts including Theft, Forgery, and Misuse of Public Monies.
The indictment alleges Chavez took $8,825 in cash from the town on five separate occasions during July and August 2016, and that she used a town credit card for an additional $16,482 in personal purchases from April to September 2016. Chavez is also alleged to have taken $9,940 in town funds on August 16, 2016, to pay for personal purchases on the town credit card.
Chavez is scheduled to appear before a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner in Phoenix on Thursday, August 10, 2017, at 8:30 am for her arraignment.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson is prosecuting this matter.
All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.