Condoms Purchased Through the ESA Program Are Not Just Mistakes

Arizona Channel 12 News Craig Harris has followed up on his reporting last month, revealing that over 20 percent of purchases $2500 and under in the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Welfare/Scam for the Wealthy and Crooked Private School Voucher program were unallowable items.

Among those unallowed items in Harris’s most recent report include an above-ground pool, a hot tub, iPhones, condoms, and various other sexual products.

In Harris’s reporting, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne did not designate these expenses as fraud, instead referring to most of them as “Just mistakes.”

How can the purchase of condoms and various sexual products just be considered “Just mistakes?’

Neither Horne nor his spokesperson, Doug Nick, would comment on the number of ESA accounts that have been suspended for this unallowed expenses.

Commenting to Blog for Arizona on the recent Harris reporting, Arizona House Assistant House Leader Nancy Guiterrez stated:

“I’m very glad to have such dedicated journalists who are willing to do the work that our Superintendent of Public Instruction should be doing. The fraud and abuse in the Universal Voucher Program are unacceptable. This is mismanagement at the best and deliberate misuse of public funds at the worst. Either way, this program must be reigned in. A full and complete audit of the universal vouchers should be done immediately.”

Dr. Teresa Leyba Ruiz, Democratic Candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, also commented to Blog for Arizona:

“For years, we were told ESA fraud was under 1%. Now we know it’s 20%, and neither the treasurer nor the superintendent will own this taxpayer exploitation. As superintendent, I will protect Arizona families’ wallets from day one and ensure bad actors face the law.”

A mid-afternoon request for comment from the Blog to Superintendent Horne and Mr. Nick was not returned.