A Cochise County sheriff’s deputy and his wife have been indicted on charges alleging they embezzled nearly $1 million from her former boss, a Sierra Vista doctor.
Victor and Angelina Michelle Lopez were each indicted on three counts of theft and one count each of fraudulent schemes and artifices. Victor Lopez faces an additional conspiracy count as well.
Angelina Lopez was the bookkeeper/manager at Sierra Vista Internal Medicine when she and her husband conspired to steal from the company, according to the indictment. The couple used the money to support their household and Angelina Lopez manipulated the books to hide her activities, authorities claim.
Between Aug. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2009, Victor Lopez “aided, counseled and/or solicited” his wife to misrepresent how she was spending the company’s money, the indictment states. It also says she misrepresented that she was authorized to spend the funds at her husband’s request.
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Deputy Lopez is on paid administrative leave "until we can get enough information to determine our next course of action," said Carol Capas, sheriff's spokeswoman.
The couple was indicted as a result of an investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Sierra Vista Police Department.
