Former Yavapai County school officials sentenced for misusing funds

A Superior Court judge has sentenced two former Yavapai County school officials to one year of unsupervised probation on charges of misusing grant funds, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Monday.

"Dennis Fiscus is the former programs of study director for the Department of Career and Technical Education, and Lois Lamer is the former superintendent of the Valley Academy for Career and Technical Education (VACTE)," the office of the attorney general said in a prepared statement.

According to the Attorney General's Office, the two were indicted and accused of submitting falsified documents related to certain purchase orders as well as misusing funds in September 2021. They later pled guilty to Class 6 felony charges related to soliciting the misuse of public funds, the attorney's office said.

The Attorney General's Office also noted that the pair will have to pay restitution of $7,500 together, were each fined $2,000 and that they will each have to complete 100 hours of community service, per the court's orders.

The case was investigated by the Arizona Auditor General's Office and prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General's Fraud and Special Prosecution's Section, the attorney's office said.