ELOY – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today that a State Grand Jury indicted Jeffrey Van Handel, former Superintendent of Toltec Elementary School District (TESD), and Eileen Crumbaker, former Director of Business Services for TESD, for a fraud scheme alleged to have occurred between April 2013 and June 2016.
On May 2, 2022, the State Grand Jury returned a True Bill on the indictment naming Jeffrey Van Handel and Eileen Crumbaker as defendants. They are alleged to have improperly used contracts between TESD and World School Foundation, a non-profit organization, to funnel additional money through TESD’s payroll system in order to increase their contributions to the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS). In doing so, both defendants are alleged to have misused pubic funds and committed theft against TESD.
Mr. Van Handel is also alleged to have committed theft against ASRS and that his involvement with the contracts created a conflict of interest. The defendants are set to be arraigned on May 31, 2022 before Commissioner Richard Hinz. They both face charges of Fraud Schemes and Artifices (C2F), Theft over $25,000 (C2F), and Misuse of Public Funds (C4F). Mr. Van Handel faces an additional charge of Theft over $25,000 (C2F) and Conflict of Interest (C6F).
This case was investigated by the Office of the Arizona Auditor General. A copy of the report is available here.
Assistant Attorney General Nicole Shaker is prosecuting the case.
Copy of indictment can be found here.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
