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Trial For Paul Petersen Postponed, Won't Be Ready By Late May

Paul Petersen
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
/
file | agency
Paul Petersen in 2019.

Paul Petersen made a brief appearance in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday morning, and lawyers on both sides agreed they will not be ready by late May to start a trial on charges that the former county assessor defrauded the state’s Medicaid system.

Recently filed court documents said Petersen could go on trial in Arizona at the end of May. But the state still has some evidence left to share with the defense. And the prosecutor told the judge that he expects to have a better idea in late April for a potential timeline.

Petersen also faces charges in Arkansas and Utah in connection with allegations that he ran an illegal adoption scam involving pregnant women from the Marshall Islands. Petersen has maintained that he is innocent. 

His co-defendant in Arizona has pleaded guilty to reduced charges and she has agreed to testify against her old boss.

Matthew Casey has won Edward R. Murrow awards for hard news and sports reporting since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.