Ex-Phoenix police officer gets prison term in $1M fraud case

PHOENIX (AP) — A former Phoenix police officer has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution in a fraud case.

Authorities said Toni Richardson was sentenced Monday after being arrested last year for submitting a fraudulent application to receive financial assistance from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richardson was indicted in December and resigned from the police force before the department could fire her.

Prosecutors said Richardson and a co-defendant filed a false application for Paycheck Protection Program loan money for their business that allegedly employed 85 people and had a monthly payroll of $510,000.

Court records show the business had no employees or payroll and the defendants improperly spent the more than $1.2 million they were allocated through the government program.

Prosecutors said Richardson must serve three years of probation after completing her prison term.