SANTA FE – New Mexico’s Democratic attorney general on Friday charged Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran with embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations, further widening a rift between the two over enforcement of the state’s laws governing campaigns.
Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office filed the 64-count complaint late Friday afternoon in state district court in Santa Fe. Balderas did not make a statement or hold a news conference to announce the complaint against Duran, one of the highest-ranking Republicans in the state.
Balderas spokesman James Hallinan said the office would not be releasing any information beyond the court filing. “Our office will proceed transparently by way of preliminary hearing,” he said.
Duran and her spokesman did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment. It wasn’t known if Duran had an attorney.
According to the complaint, the attorney general’s investigation centered on deposits of large amounts of cash as well as campaign contributions into both personal and campaign accounts controlled by the secretary of state. The movement of money often culminated with cash expenditures at casinos throughout the state, the complaint states.
Duran also is charged with tampering with public records, conspiracy and violating the state’s Governmental Conduct Act.
“Dianna J. Duran did use her powers and status as a public officer, employee and office of the Secretary of State to obtain personal benefit or pursue private interests, conduct herself in a manner that did not maintain the integrity, ethics, responsibilities of public service,” the complaint states.
Balderas and Duran have been sparring over campaign finance reports for months. In February, the two announced a joint task force to study the reporting and enforcement of campaign finance laws. But just months later, Duran accused Balderas of submitting three late campaign finance reports during his time as state auditor.
Balderas fired back, calling the allegations incorrect and saying they highlighted flaws in the state’s reporting process. He said at the time that he was concerned about the integrity of the data and records at the Secretary of State’s Office.
Balderas sent Duran a letter in June describing what he saw as shortcomings in the current system and suggested that legislators needed to put teeth back into the Campaign Reporting Act by reinstating mandatory fines for violations. Officials had acknowledged the previous month that they weren’t clear on how many violations were being investigated.
State law requires that candidates’ reports list donations and expenditures. The public documents are also supposed to list the donations’ sources.
Balderas said his office had received only one criminal referral from the secretary of state for a violation of the reporting law.
Duran’s office only collected 4 percent of roughly 2,000 fines imposed on candidates during the 2012 and 2014 primary and general elections, according to a review by The Daily Times newspaper in Farmington. Furthermore, she waived more than one-third of the other fines and never collected another 62 percent.
