Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched a criminal investigation into a group home company’s donations to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) and the state’s Democratic Party, after the company received additional funding following a donation to her campaign.
Sunshine Residential Homes, a group home for “children in Arizona who are victims of abuse, abandonment, and neglect,” donated approximately $400,000 to Hobbs’ campaign, inauguration, and the state’s Democratic Party, according to the Arizona Republic.
While there was initially no issue with these donations, questions arose after the state’s Department of Child Safety raised the company’s pay rate per child by around 60%, at the same time the other homes were being rejected in their requests for more funds. The Republic reported that Sunshine Residential is complying with the investigation.
Fox News reported that, in December 2022, Sunshine Residential sought a 20% rate increase to $179 per day, but was denied by DCS on Feb 6, 2023.
However, just three days after this, on Feb. 9, 2023, Sunshine sent a $100,000 check to Hobbs’ inaugural campaign. In May, they were granted a rate increase to $234 per day for standard group home services, significantly higher than the average $169 for other group homes.
A spokesperson for Hobbs alleged that the Arizona Republic that the payment had been made Dec. 15, 2022, prior to the first rate increase request.
After the news broke, Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R) sent a letter to Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, saying that the situation can “only be described as a pay-to-play scheme.”
Shope argued that the company, DCS, and Hobbs’ office could all be complicit in violations of several laws, including bribery, fraud, conflicts of interest, and illegal expenditure of state dollars. He referred to the allegations as a “disgusting abuse of taxpayer dollars to further her political career.”
“Knowing Arizona’s Governor and the Arizona Democratic Party are providing preferential treatment to a facility alleged to have engaged in negligence leading to the death of a child is unconscionable,” the senator stated.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R) said the report is concerning, especially considering Hobbs’ past as a social worker.
“Arizonans deserve to know how their elected officials are spending their money, and this case raises a major red flag with what’s happening behind closed doors on the ninth floor,” Petersen said in a statement, reported by the Republic. “With the state in the middle of a budget shortfall, and with what appears to be a pay-to-play scheme now exposed, the Legislature has a lot of questions we will be seeking answers to from both the Governor’s office and DCS.
“Our citizens deserve better. Rest assured, we will continue to serve Arizonans as the check and balance against any abuse of power displayed by our Executive and the agencies under her administration,” he added.
Mitchell responded to the matter on Thursday, saying that there will be a meeting between her office and the Arizona Auditor General to “serve as the procession office” while the Auditor General investigates.
“My chief deputy is scheduling a meeting between the Auditor General’s staff members who will conduct the investigation and assigned staff from my office,” Mitchell wrote, per the Republic.
Mayes’ office also responded, with Chief Counsel of the Criminal Divison Nick Klingerman saying they are obligated to investigate.
“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,” he wrote.
Hobbs’ office stated that they believed their administration would be cleared of wrongdoing, categorizing the investigation as political in nature.
“Just like past investigations instigated by radical and partisan legislators, the administration will be cleared of wrongdoing,” they told The Center Square in a statement on Friday afternoon. “Governor Hobbs is a social worker who has been a champion for Arizona families and kids. It is outrageous to suggest her administration would not do what’s right for children in foster care.”
It was noted by ABC15 Arizona that Sunshine Residential is already under scrutiny for the death of a 9-year-old diabetic child who was in their care.
