Scandal at NMFA Emerges

KRQE - The New Mexico Finance Authority, which makes billions of dollars in loans for public projects, faked its annual audit that was sent to creditors and investors for 2011, the state auditor said Thursday.
The revelation shocked state officials and raised questions about both the potential fallout and what the false document might have been trying to hide.

"I don't know because we have never seen anything at this scale," said Antonio Corrales, director of operations for State Auditor Hector Balderas. "But if creditors come back and take those loans (that were made based on faked audit results), I don't know if ... insurance would cover it if it was provided under false pretenses. It could be huge."

In a press release announcing the findings, Balderas said he was "moving aggressively to determine the full extent of this fraud perpetrated against New Mexico's taxpayers."

"I'm extremely concerned that a report was fraudulently created in order to misrepresent the Authority's financial condition to agencies, investors and the public," he said.

Balderas said he discovered the fake audit after the NMFA failed to submit its annual review as required by law.
He says a fraudulent audit report had been produced for investors and creditors, but the firm that supposedly created that document has confirmed it is not their work. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Scandal at NMFA Emerges