A former information technology manager from ASU is accused of embezzling over $120,000 from the University to make unauthorized personal purchases.
On Dec. 1, Carlos Urrea was indicted by the Maricopa County Superior Court on 14 felony counts including theft, forgery, fraud and misuse of public money.
A report published by the Arizona Auditor General detailed that Urrea forged receipts between 2017 and 2021 and used his ASU purchase card for personal expenses that amounted to a total of $124,093.
Urrea was put on administrative leave in Jan. 2022 when the University Audit department found errors in his transactions and Urrea "refused to comply," according to the report. In March 2022, his employment was terminated and the University requested a repayment of over $95,000. The report said no repayment has been made as of Dec. 11.
According to the report, Urrea made 810 purchases, including 12 gaming consoles, 10 smartwatches, a treadmill and a rowing machine.
The ASU Business and Finance website states p-cards, which are corporate liability cards that operate like credit cards, are issued for “purchasing low-dollar goods and services that serve a public purpose."
The auditor general report also found that ASU officials failed to follow p-card policies, permitting Urrea to bypass procedures due to time-related concerns and allowing deviations such as late submissions, unapproved purchases and exceeding spending limits.
In the report, Urrea claimed that his actions were to support his family and children, and acknowledged his misuse of public funds as "very dumb."
The report said ASU has made several improvements to the process since, including utilizing the procurement process for IT purchases, enforcing timely verifications, requiring thorough justifications and conducting unannounced reviews for accountability.
Urrea’s trial is set to begin on June 5, 2024, with an arraignment hearing set for Dec. 28 of this year.
Edited by Sadie Buggle, Shane Brennan and Angelina Steel.
Reach the reporter at syramir2@asu.edu and follow @nerdyoso on X.
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