Arizona CEO accused of stealing millions

Jeffrey Gottfurcht, the now-former CEO of Mesa startupo Cyber Dive, is accused of stealing at least $1.5 million from the company to buy gifts for his girlfriend. FOX 10’s Brian Webb has more.

PHOENIX – An Arizona chief executive officer is facing major legal trouble after being accused of embezzling money from his company.

What we know:

Cyber Dive is an Arizona startup that sells child-safety smartphones, designed so parents can monitor their children’s online activity. The company is run out of a business complex in Mesa, but the startup is barely hanging on after the CEO allegedly took off with the money to spend on his girlfriend.

Jeffrey Gottfurcht is facing federal embezzlement charges. He stands accused of lying and doctoring documents to trick investors before running off with at least $1.5 million.

On the company Facebook page, Gottfurcht claimed to be the first rheumatoid arthritis sufferer to scale Mount Everest.  

Local perspective:

Red flags first popped up at the company on Feb. 13, with strange occurrences coming into the office.

Derek Jackson, who co-founded Cyber Dive, recalled the moment the discrepancies came to light.

“They mentioned to me something about getting routing documentation for funds from an acquisition deal,” Jackson recounted. “They said ‘where are those documents?’ He said he was gonna send him at 3 p.m. today, and my response was what deal are you talking about?”

Dig deeper:

Court documents show Gottfurcht used the money to buy his escort girlfriend a Lamborghini, a four-bedroom house in Miami, and a diamond ring. The girlfriend has posted videos on TikTok, but her identity is hidden because she has not been charged with a crime.

When asked to confirm if Gottfurcht purchased the car, the diamond ring, and the house, Jackson responded, “Yes. So it gets deep. Yes, it gets very deep.”

“It’s a huge gut punch,” Jackson said regarding the impact on the startup. “I think it’s been challenging to stay motivated to keep the company going because when this happened, Jeff drained the account to zero.”

At the Cyber Dive headquarters, half the workforce was let go. Jackson is now serving as the interim chief executive officer, looking for new investors to keep the lights on while coming to grips with the loss of a partner and friend.

Jackson stated that the total amount of money taken is closer to $4 million.

“I was in the army. I was an intelligence officer. I was targeting people in ISIS. I don’t even hate terrorists as much as I hate Jeff right now,” Jackson said.

The other side:

No one answered the door at the Paradise Valley home Gottfurcht shares with his wife and three children. Court paperwork shows that his wife is seeking a divorce, and helped turn her husband in to the authorities.

What’s next:

Gottfurcht was previously arrested in Scottsdale in May over allegations of domestic violence. He remains behind bars on a $250,000 bond. 

As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.

Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.

The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.

Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce

Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.

“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”

Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.

Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.

Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.

PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.

“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.

Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.

The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.

Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.

Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.

Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.

Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.

His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.

Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.

Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.

Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.