WICKENBURG, Ariz. — A former administrator of the Wickenburg Unified School District is accused of using his position to get the district's contractors to provide him free construction materials on a property he later sold for $445,000.
William Moran, the district's former director of operations, has been charged with fraud and forgery after investigators uncovered conflicts he allegedly had with one of the school district's contractors.
According to the Arizona Auditor General, the school district solicited bids in 2017 for vendors to excavate dirt off the district's property.
An engineering firm told Moran the dirt could be used to flatten out slopes in other areas of the district's property. But Moran allegedly failed to communicate that plan to the vendors submitting bids.
"Mr. Moran communicated with potential vendors his intent that dirt be delivered to a vacant lot he owned," the auditor's report stated.
Moran awarded the contract to a vendor who delivered up to 700 truckloads of dirt to Moran's property, the auditors said. The vendor should have charged $100 per load for the job but Moran paid nothing for the delivery.
Moran's lot was later developed into a 2,000-square-foot home, which was sold in 2019 for $445,000.
Wickenburg Unified is a small district serving about 1,300 students and an annual budget of $16 million. Moran had been working at the district for more than 30 years before becoming its director of operations.
He left the district shortly after the superintendent started asking Moran questions about suspicious construction bids.
"After Mr. Moran’s February 2018 resignation, the superintendent discovered the District’s excavation work was incomplete and contacted the vendor, who then completed the job," the auditor's report stated.
Moran is additionally accused of creating false price quotas in the district's procurement records.
Since Moran left the Wickenburg district, officials have told auditors the district has made reforms to prevent fraud or abuse.
"District officials reported they improved internal controls for construction projects totaling less than $100,000 by requiring vendors to submit price quotes directly to the District office," auditors reported.
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