Alia Beard Rau

The Republic | azcentral.com

Editor's note: The story, originally published on June 22, has been changed to clarify which state officials conducted the investigation.

A Democratic state lawmaker has been indicted on charges of felony welfare fraud, according to Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Timothy Jeffries.

Rep. Ceci Velasquez, D-Litchfield Park, is suspected of fraud against the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP.

According to a news release from the agency, the state got a tip in November 2014 of possible fraudulent activity. The DES Office of Inspector General investigated the allegations. Court documents allege Velasquez between 2013 and 2015 fraudulently used $1,726 worth of food stamps.

Velasquez was charged by the Arizona State Grand Jury in May with three felony counts: fraudulent schemes and practices; unlawful use of food stamps; and theft. The court documents were unsealed this week.

Velasquez did not return calls from The Republic seeking comment. But shortly after the indictment was announced, a statement was posted to her Twitter account: "I have done nothing wrong! This is a political witch hunt. I'm confident that justice WILL prevail once all the facts are known!"

Velasquez, an Arizona native and paralegal, was elected to the Legislature in 2014. Her political career began amid controversy, when it was discovered there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest for $2,000 in unpaid court fines stemming from charges of driving on a suspended license and without insurance.

If she is convicted of felony charges announced Wednesday, Velasquez would be required to resign her office. She had not resigned as of Wednesday afternoon, according to House Minority Chief of Staff Keely Varvel.

If Velasquez were to resign, she would be the third Democratic House member in recent years to do so while facing a felony indictment.

In 2012, Rep. Richard Miranda abruptly resigned from the Legislature and later pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud and attempted tax evasion for selling a Surprise building owned by a non-profit he ran and pocketing the money. Miranda received a 27-month federal prison sentence and was ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That same year, Rep. Ben Arredondo, a former Tempe City Council member, pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign his legislative seat after being indicted for demanding tickets to sporting events and gifts from a fake company that ostensibly wanted to do development deals in Tempe. The company was a ruse fronted by undercover FBI agents.