Thread: New Mexico's secretary of state faces 65th charge: identity theft

New Mexico's secretary of state faces 65th charge: identity theft

New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran, left, sits in court with her attorney, Erlinda Johnson, in Santa Fe, N.M.
(Luis Sanchez Saturno / Santa Fe New Mexican)


Nigel Duara Contact Reporter


The New Mexico secretary of state, who oversees campaign finance reporting and once bemoaned a "culture of corruption" in the state, has been accused of using her election fund as a personal piggy bank at jewelry stores, ATMs and casinos.

Secretary of State Dianna K. Duran (R.) already faces allegations of financial crimes, stemming from a separate August indictment.

Late Friday, the New Mexico attorney general's office alleged in a criminal complaint that Duran also falsified campaign finance reports by forging the name of a former state Senate colleague and claiming him as her campaign treasurer.

The onetime colleague, Don Kidd, a banker in southeast New Mexico, denied any involvement with Duran's campaigns in 2010 and 2014.

When asked by an investigator with the attorney general's office why she would list him as treasurer, Kidd replied, according to the complaint, "Well, I have no idea. I just don't know, that's amazing."

A 65th charge, identity theft, was added Friday after Kidd's interview with an investigator. Duran's attorney could not be reached for comment Saturday.Duran faces 64 charges related to fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.

The attorney general's office alleged that she frequented casinos across the state, withdrawing $430,000 between 2013 and 2014 from her personal accounts while also depositing campaign funds into her personal accounts.

According to the charges, Duran's first statewide campaign in 2010 was the same year irregularities appeared in her campaign finance disclosure forms.

In 2014, investigators received an anonymous tip about cash deposits into Duran's personal accounts. When they dug deeper, they found large cash and campaign deposits transferred between campaign and personal accounts, according to the criminal complaint.

Some of the suspected violations appear designed to avoid campaign finance reporting requirements, such as a $5,200 check from Mack Energy Corp. that was entered instead as a $2,900 contribution, according to the complaint.

The difference allowed Duran to register Mack Energy's total contribution — it had made other donations as well — as $10,400, the maximum allowed by the state, according to the complaint.

A Republican first elected as secretary of state in 2010, beating out the incumbent Democrat, Duran was part of a tide of conservative elected officials nationwide who won political points by focusing on possible violations of voter ID laws.

She took office in January 2011 and by March had referred 64,000 voter registration records to state police, citing irregularities. Duran then took fire from Democratic legislators, public interest groups and news organizations that said she overstated her case, scared voters and withheld proof of her claims.

But criticism of Duran largely subsided until Aug. 28 of this year, when the attorney general's office said that for years she had pilfered from her campaign account to cover personal expenses.

She has not stepped aside during the investigation, leading to further speculation about her finances.

"She wants to hang onto her $85,000-a-year job as secretary of state as long as possible," wrote Santa Fe New Mexican political columnist Milan Simonich. "Her record of bank overdrafts explains why."

The state has set aside $250,000 for an impeachment investigation into Duran's activities.

The state's prosecution of its top electoral official will be the earliest and highest-profile test of New Mexico's public corruption law, passed in 2012.

The law permits prosecutors to request an enhanced sentence for any convictions of public corruption and to fine an individual in an amount equal to his or her pay and fringe benefits from the time of the earliest crime. In Duran's case, that would amount to close to $500,000.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...004-story.html

Justice
seems slow on the draw, average 13 crimes per year/ Life style seems to suggests she was living above her salary standard, does'nt it?

New Mexico secretary of state pleads guilty

Russell Contreras, Associated Press 11:20 a.m. MDT October 23, 2015


(Photo: Susan Montoya Bryan, AP)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran pleaded guilty to embezzlement and other charges Friday after abruptly resigning amid a fraud investigation that alleges she siphoned off thousands of dollars from her election account and withdrew the money at casinos around the state.

In a packed Santa Fe District courtroom, Duran pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement charges and four misdemeanors.

Sentencing is slated for Dec. 14 and Duran can withdraw her guilty pleas if a judge later imposes prison time.

Her critics were appalled that as the state official in charge of regulating campaign finance, Duran would be accused of violating the law.

Duran attorney Erlinda Ocampo Johnson and Gov. Susana Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez confirmed Friday that Duran’s resignation was effective immediately. Duran submitted her resignation last night, Johnson said in an email to The Associated Press.

As secretary of state, the Republican was one of New Mexico’s highest-ranking elected officials. She won a second term last year and was the first Republican elected to the post in New Mexico since 1928. Duran, who began her political career as a deputy county clerk in southern New Mexico in 1988, ran on a platform of eliminating voter fraud.

“Fraud happens a lot in this state. That’s why we need voter I.D.,” Duran told The Associated Press last year during a campaign event that featured former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Previously, Duran pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she misused campaign donations by funneling some $13,000 into personal accounts and filed false campaign finance reports with her own office, which is responsible for enforcing New Mexico’s elections and campaign finance laws.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, filed the allegations against Duran in August following a lengthy investigation.

Prosecutors say bank statements show transactions at casinos, restaurants and cash withdrawals at ATMs.
But, Johnson, Duran’s lawyer, said Balderas had a conflict of interest because he and Duran have sparred in the past, according to a motion filed late Wednesday in Santa Fe District Court. Johnson wrote it seems Balderas has a vendetta against Duran.

Balderas strongly disputed that claim.

State legislators had launched an investigation that could have led to impeachment proceedings.

The case has raised questions about the integrity of New Mexico’s campaign finance system, and open government advocates have called for reforms as well as an audit of all campaign finance reports and the creation of a state ethics commission in the wake of the probe.

In a statement, Republican Party of New Mexico officials said they respected Duran’s decision to “help restore credibility” to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.

“Voters rightfully demand that our elected officials be accountable to the law, and our party will continue to advocate for accountability in government,” New Mexico GOP Chairman Debbie Maestas said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/new...ilty/74463498/

Ex-New Mexico official gets 30 days in campaign finance case

By MORGAN LEE 5 minutes ago

.View photo

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, file photo, former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran listens to prosecutors during a motions hearing in Santa Fe, N.M. Duran is due in court Monday, Dec. 14, to be sentenced on charges related to a campaign finance scandal that she has blamed on a gambling addiction. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — After making a tearful plea for leniency, former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for siphoning money from her election account to fuel a gambling addiction in a case that has led to calls for an overhaul of the state's campaign finance and ethics laws.

Duran pleaded guilty in October to felony embezzlement and money laundering charges and four misdemeanor counts while resigning from office under an agreement with state prosecutors.

District Judge T. Glenn Ellington handed down the sentence in a packed Santa Fe courtroom. He suspended all but a month of the initial 7.5-year sentence and ordered Duran to report to jail Friday after denying a motion that would have allowed her to spend time with her family over the holidays.

Ellington told Duran that New Mexico has had its share of public officials who have been convicted of criminal offenses involving public funds. Although her case involved private campaign donations, he said "the damage created is much broader" given her position as the state's top elections official.

He also ordered her to pay nearly $14,000 in restitution, serve five years of probation, write numerous letters of apology and make regular public appearances for the next three years to educate school children and others about her career and the crimes she committed.

Ellington said one of the goal is to restore faith in the secretary of state's office.

Duran's lawyer was given until noon Wednesday to decide whether to withdraw her plea since the sentence included jail time. Prosecutors had recommended probation.

Choking back tears, Duran said she was truly sorry and asked for forgiveness and leniency.

"I'll apologize to the people of New Mexico, to my family and my friends," she said.

A former state senator from Tularosa, Duran had sought leniency in court filings, citing undisclosed personal hardships and a worsening gambling disorder. A mental health assessment was submitted to the court and has been kept under seal.

Defense attorney Erlinda Johnson said her client's gambling problem dates to 2010, the year she became the first Republican elected to the secretary of state's office since 1928. Johnson has said the gambling spiraled out of control in 2012 and 2013.

State Sen. Bill Sharer also asked the judge to be lenient, saying Duran cared about her constituents and that she didn't take taxpayer money. The Republican lawmaker said Duran already has paid a high price by losing her reputation and her dream of continued public service.

Duran ran on a platform of eliminating voter fraud. She was re-elected last year.

Her case led to legislative proposals to increase penalties for public officials convicted of corruption and expand campaign finance disclosures and oversight.

The secretary of state's office is charged with overseeing and enforcing New Mexico's elections and campaign finance laws.

Some residents left phone messages and sent letters to the judge expressing frustration and calling for a stiff sentence for Duran.

Others, including U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican, suggested that the judge consider Duran's decades of public service when imposing a punishment.

http://news.yahoo.com/disgraced-mexi...084735131.html