Former Valley Metro CEO pleads guilty to fraud charge
Stephen Banta, who served as CEO from early 2010, resigned in late 2015.
Valley Metro is the regional public transportation agency providing coordinated transit services to residents of metro Phoenix.
PHOENIX — Stephen Banta, the former chief executive of Valley Metro, pleaded guilty Monday to a fraud charge for falsely claiming personal expenses for him and his wife as business costs, reported the Associated Press.
A report released by the state's Office of the Auditor General says Banta claimed that $32,000 in personal travel, meal and alcohol costs for him and his wife were expenses related to his work, according to the AP report.
Banta, who served as Valley Metro's chief executive from early 2010, resigned in late 2015 after The Arizona Republic reported about his questionable expenses paid with public money, the report said.
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