Fake audit leads to two arrests, including the COO of the NM Finance Authority, for “cooking the books”

Capitol Report New Mexico - The NMFA controversy is now officially a criminal matter. On Wednesday morning (Aug. 8th) officers with the state Security Division arrested the chief operating officer,John T. Duff, of the New Mexico Finance Authority and a former controller at the authority, Greg Campbell, accusing them of submitting a forged audit, misrepresenting financial statements and trying to cover up $40 million in losses. “I think it sends a message that we’re serious and we’re pressing forward in finding out what happened here,” J. Dee Dennis Jr., Superintendent of the State Regulation and Licensing Department, told reporters Wednesday morning. The two arrests come one month after it was learned that the NMFA, which essentially acts as a bank for municipalities and agencies across New Mexico for funding bonds and infrastructure programs, had filed a fake audit in fiscal year 2011. The news of the bogus audit has caused Wall Street ratings agencies to consider lowering the bond ratings for the state, which could lead to taxpayers having to pay millions of dollars more in increased interest payments. Read More News New Mexico

Fake audit leads to two arrests, including the COO of the NM Finance Authority, for “cooking the books”