Arizona’s Democratic attorney general has declined to charge Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs over explosive allegations that a major state contractor poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Democratic political coffers before receiving a lucrative 30 percent rate increase.
Far-left Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Friday that her office would bring no criminal charges against Hobbs over her administration’s dealings with Sunshine Residential Homes.
The numbers behind the investigation were eye-popping.
Sunshine donated $200,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party ahead of Hobbs’ disputed victory over Republican Kari Lake back in 2022.
It then contributed $100,000 to Hobbs’ inaugural fund and another $100,000 to the state Democratic Party in August 2023.
Company founder Simon Kottoor and his wife also donated a combined $10,000 to Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaigns.
At the time of the donations, Sunshine had been pressing the state for a substantial increase in the rate it was paid for each foster-care bed.
After their initial requests were rejected, the company received a 30 percent increase in May 2023, taking its reimbursement from $149 to $195 per bed.
This was less than six months after Hobbs took office.
Sunshine was also one of only two providers granted an increase during that contracting period.
More evidence Kris Mayes and Katie Hobbs are corrupt.
They actually found MORE evidence of Pay-to-play in the investigation and refused to do anything. https://t.co/8kkQahyxl4
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) August 21, 2026
Hobbs has denied any wrongdoing and says she played no role in approving the increase.
She declined to sit for an interview with investigators, instead submitting written statements through her attorneys.
The fake news propaganda media at the Arizona Republic is at it again. Look at this framing. Wasn’t it Katie Hobbs that was subject to the investigation? No mention of her in the headline, just a random photo. They do this to protect her knowing full well most people never even… pic.twitter.com/3zNSyvPp4K
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) August 21, 2026
Mayes insists there was insufficient evidence of the quid pro quo necessary to establish bribery.
“After two years of investigation, consisting of multiple interviews, reviews of campaign-finance records, procurement records, bank documents, and State emails and chats, totaling over one terabyte of data, including more than 100,000 documents, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence of the necessary quid pro quo to support a bribery charge,” Mayes said in a statement.
Investigators claim that Sunshine possessed substantial bargaining power because it was Arizona’s largest provider of certain foster-care beds and had threatened to reduce capacity unless the state paid more.
The Democratic attorney general’s decision does not end Hobbs’ legal headaches.
A separate investigation involving Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Arizona’s auditor general remains underway.
Hobbs is seeking re-election for a second four-year term. She will face off against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs in November.
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