Martha McSally's ex-deputy campaign manager pleads guilty to stealing more than $115,000 from campaign

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Former Sen. Martha McSally’s ex-deputy campaign manager pleaded guilty Friday to stealing more than $115,000 from her campaign, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Anthony Barry, 33, admitted to thieving the money from the McSally for Senate Campaign in 2018 and 2019.

"Martha McSally appreciates the FBI’s efforts to resolve this case," Dylan Lefler, McSally’s former campaign manager, said, according to the Arizona Republic.

Lefler said the campaign alerted authorities two years ago when they suspected what he was doing.

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Then-U.S. Senate candidate Martha McSally, R-Ariz, speaks during a rally for President Donald Trump at the International Air Response facility on October 19, 2018 in Mesa, Arizona. (Getty Images)

Barry used his position to fraudulently direct the campaign to pay him beyond his salary and he deposited the ill-gotten funds into a private bank account, the Justice Department said in a release.

He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conversion of campaign funds and could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

In February 2018, Barry was reportedly earning between $8,000 and $9,000 per month, according to the Republic, and that November, the month of the election, he brought in $45,000.

In 2019, he earned between $12,000 and $34,000 per month with his final payment in June of that year, the Republic reported. 

He’s scheduled to be sentenced July 6.

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, appointed McSally to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy created when former Sen. Jon Kyl resigned after being named to temporarily fill the seat vacated by the death of Sen. John McCain in 2018.

But McSally lost a bid to complete McCain's term in a 2020 special election. She had previously lost a bid to succeed former Sen. Jeff Flake in 2018 prior to her appointment.

The U.S. Air Force veteran previously served in the U.S. House from 2015 to 2019.