Arizona: Arizona Corporation Commission

The Arizona Corporation Commission ordered a number of individuals with East Valley ties and their companies to pay nearly $8 million to 80 investors who were victims of two separate investment fraud scams, the commission announced on Thursday.

Although criminal charges have been lodged against just one of the managers of the investment and securities operations, it is uncertain whether the corporation commission will recommend criminal charges to the Attorney General's Office in the other two cases, according to Rebecca Wilder, spokeswoman for the Arizona Corporation Commission.

In the largest scam that included a Tempe church losing $1 million it invested, Chandler resident Jonathan Fraser Buchanan was required to pay $4.

Half of all votes have been counted, and so far none of the six candidates for Arizona Corporation Commissioner are significantly outpacing or under-performing against any other.

As it stands, Democrat Sandra Kennedy leads the pack with 17.8 percent, while state Rep. Marian McClure (R-Tucson) trails at 15.8 percent.

That means there is no greater than a 2 percent difference between any of the candidates in the race.

In a letter sent to the entire Arizona delegation in the U.S. House and Senate, the Arizona Corporation Commission is urging the state's national legislators to support the extension of the investment tax credit for solar energy and other renewable energy sources. The credit's renewal was passed in the House but is stalling in the Senate, and is set to expire in December of 2008.