DENVER—A state tax supervisor and an entertainment promoter accused of funneling $11.1 million in taxpayer money into phony accounts were advised of the charges against them Friday.
Michelle Cawthra, 30, worked for the Colorado Department of Revenue, and Hysear Don Randell, 40, face more than 90 counts, including forgery, embezzlement of public property, racketeering, theft by receiving and conspiracy to commit theft.
The two, who authorities say had an intimate relationship, will be arraigned Aug. 3 in Denver District Court. Both are in jail on $10 million bond each.
Randell’s wife, Trudy Randell, 37, is also accused in the alleged scheme. She was arrested in Tampa, Fla., Thursday after a grand jury in Denver indicted all three.
Trudy Randell will make her first court appearance Tuesday in Tampa. She’s in jail on $1 million bond.
Authorities say the three concocted a plan to defraud the state Department of Revenue between August 2005 and July 2007. Cawthra, through her job as a tax examiner, enabled the three to divert money to businesses and bank accounts, according to the indictment.
