A former city of Surprise revenue manager spent years stealing cash from the city and now faces 15 felony charges, according to investigators.

Estella Sanchez was indicted in March on suspicion of theft, fraud and custodial violations of public money. Authorities think that before she made bank deposits, Sanchez would steal cash and then replace it with checks made out to the city.

A case summary written by a Surprise police detective does not say exactly how much investigators think Sanchez stole. But the city says it has recovered about $836,000 through insurance.

Sanchez was fired from her job in 2014, shortly after an internal auditor noticed a discrepancy.