Former town employee accused of embezzling over $170K in Arizona

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An audit alleges the town employee used town credit cards to purchase multiple Apple products and men’s designer colognes. LA

June 10, 2025 WOL

An audit alleges the town employee used town credit cards to purchase multiple Apple products and men’s designer colognes.

LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. — A former employee of a small Arizona town in La Paz County is facing criminal charges for allegedly embezzling large sums of money over the course of many months.

Jennifer Alcaida, who worked as the office specialist for the Town of Parker, was indicted earlier this year in Mohave County for felony charges of fraud and theft following an investigation into the town’s finances.

A report recently released by the Arizona Auditor General details how, starting in the summer of 2021, Alcaida allegedly used the town payroll stock to issue multiple checks and deposit them in a personal bank account.

“…soon after we started our investigation, Ms. Alcaida admitted to the Town manager she had embezzled Town monies by issuing checks to herself and forging signatures on those checks,” the report states.

She then allegedly transferred the money through bitcoin digital currency to a person she reportedly met online, according to the auditor’s report. After hitting the bitcoin transaction cap, the town employee allegedly issued checks to alleged associates of the person she met online.

“Ms. Alcaida was able to orchestrate this scheme undetected because the Town manager had not reconciled the payroll account since March 2021,” the auditor’s report states.

In addition, Alcaida allegedly admitted to using town credit cards on about $4,600 of personal expenses for multiple Apple products and men’s designer colognes.

In total, auditors claim the alleged embezzlement scheme involved about $173,000 in town funds.

Town officials informed auditors that an outside entity is now responsible for verifying payroll checking account statements each month. The current town manager additionally conduct unannounced reviews of payroll records.

Alcaida’s court case remains pending.

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