Sheriff's office recommends forgery charges in Maricopa Democrats mailer investigation

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is recommending that activist Bruce Franks Jr. be charged with nine felony counts of forgery after an almost-yearlong investigation into a batch of unsent mailers the Maricopa County Democratic Party (MCDP) paid for shortly before the 2022 election.

The big picture: The sheriff's office sent its recommendations July 10 to the Pinal County Attorney's Office, which would handle any prosecutions.

• Forgery is a class 4 felony that carries a penalty of one to 3.75 years in prison.
• Pinal County Attorney's Office spokesperson Mike Pelton said the agency will review the case and make a decision on whether to charge Franks "in the near future."
• The sheriff's office isn't recommending charges against anyone else in the case.

Catch up quick: The party paid $24,480 to Tempe-based consulting firm Agave Strategy for about 100,000 mailers in October 2022. Agave subcontracted through Franks' company , Blaque Printing Enterprise.

• Agave Strategy CEO Dawn Penich told Axios last year that Franks gave her documents purporting to show the mailers were sent through a sub-vendor.
• After learning the mailers never went out, party officials questioned the authenticity of the documents, which were later determined to be forgeries, the sheriff's office told Axios.
• The party asked for a refund, which it received the following January.

Zoom in: Penich told Axios last year that Ne'Lexia Galloway, who at the time was MCDP executive director and Franks' fiancée, requested that her firm use Blaque Printing Enterprise for the mailers.

• MCDP enacted a conflict-of-interest policy in September 2022 requiring employees to disclose financial conflicts to the MCDP executive board and to recuse themselves while the board makes decisions on the transactions or arrangements.
• Penich said Franks and Galloway asked her to keep the arrangement between Agave Strategy and Blaque Printing quiet due to disputes they had with other Democrats.
• Galloway and MCDP chair Nancy Schriber resigned after Axios reported on the mailer dispute.

Between the lines: Sheriff's office investigative reports obtained by Axios show that U.S. Postal Service officials told the sheriff's office that the documents purporting to show the mailers were sent out were fraudulent.

The other side: Attorney Steve Benedetto, who represents Franks, said in a statement to Axios Phoenix on Monday, "It was entirely predictable that this sheriff's office would not conduct a complete investigation, and we are confident that once all of the information comes out, Mr. Franks' name will be cleared and this investigation will be exposed as the political stunt it is."

• He called the accusations against Franks "baseless, retaliatory allegations" that originated within the MCDP.
• "They're saying mailers didn't go out and mailers did," Franks tells Axios Phoenix.

Benedetto also alleged that the Maricopa County Democratic Party was "maneuvering" to help appointed Sheriff Russ Skinner get elected and said the sheriff's office had a "clear conflict of interest."

Jon Ryder , executive director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, told Axios the party wants to see charges filed against Franks and "see that justice is served."

• He denied that the allegations were baseless or retaliatory, saying the party found credible evidence of a crime and asked the Attorney General's Office to investigate. The office later referred the investigation to the sheriff because Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, was featured on the mailers.
• Ryder said all evidence, including information from the U.S. Postal Service, shows the mailers were never sent.
• He also noted that the party isn't supporting Skinner and is instead backing Tyler Kamp, whom it recruited to run in the Democratic primary for sheriff.

Context: Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell removed her office out of the investigation because several people involved in the case worked on the 2022 campaign of her Democratic opponent, Julie Gunnigle.