PHOENIX – Attorney General Mayes today announced that yesterday, August 26, 2025, Johnny Bowers plead guilty to Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, a Class 2 Felony, and Forgery, a Class 4 Felony, and his plea was accepted and entered by the Maricopa County Superior Court. Bowers’ co-defendant, Ashley Hewitt, a.k.a. Ashley Hopkins, also plead guilty to Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, a Class 2 Felony, on August 5, 2025, and her plea was also accepted and entered by the Maricopa County Superior Court.
“Fraud in the ESA program will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Mayes. “Those who exploit government systems for personal gain will be held accountable. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute fraud and protect taxpayer dollars.”
From December 4, 2022, to about May 3, 2024, Johnny and Ashley worked together to defraud Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (“ESA”) program by submitting forged birth certificates, forged utility bills, and other documents, to receive ESA funding. The defendants received a total of $110,258.28 for their fraudulent ESA applications for over 40 children, both real and fictitious, all while living in Colorado. They were indicted in November 2024.
Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled on Friday, October 24, at 9:30 a.m.
The case was investigated by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, and prosecuted by the Fraud and Special Prosecutions Section.
