NM secretary of state accused of dozens of corruption charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sept. 15, 2015: New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran, left, sits in Judge T. Glenn Ellington's court with her attorney, Erlinda Johnson in Santa Fe,(AP)
New Mexico’s secretary of state, who is responsible for campaign finance reporting and who once called out a “culture of corruption” in the state’s government, is facing a number of corruption charges including money laundering and identity theft.
Secretary of State Dianna K. Duran was accused of financial crimes in an August indictment, the Los Angeles Times reported. However, on Friday the attorney general’s office also alleged that Duran falsified campaign finance reports, using the name of a former state Senate colleague and claiming him as her campaign treasurer.
Duran now faces 65 charges that include fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, the Times reported. She is alleged to have withdrawn $430,000 between 2013 and 2014 from her personal accounts, while also depositing campaign funds into her personal accounts. Prosecutors allege she frequented a number of casinos across the state.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Republican, elected in 2010, took office after focusing on possible violations of voter ID laws
The law allows prosecutors to request an enhanced sentence for a conviction of public corruption that includes a fine equal to his or her pay from the time of the earliest crime – in this case it could amount to a nearly $500,000 fine, the Times reported.