Ayudando sentencing will be in person
Federal judge in Santa Fe trying to accommodate guardian’s victims
U.S. District Court in Santa Fe is preparing for an unusual criminal sentencing Thursday in the Ayudando Guardians Inc. embezzlement case, hoping to accommodate victims and the public while maintaining COVID-19 precautions.
Rather than delay the sentencing of defendant Craig Young, U.S. District Judge Martha Vázquez has decided to sentence Young in person in her Santa Fe courtroom beginning at 9:30 a.m. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering last fall.
It will be one of the first high profile in-person criminal sentencings to occur since the virus outbreak. The vast majority of sentencings in New Mexico federal courts have occurred remotely via computer.
The near 1,000 victims who lost a total of $11 million in the multi-year embezzlement of their Ayudando client accounts will have a chance to publicly speak to the judge in advance of the sentencing of Young, who is the 54-year-old son of Ayudando president Susan Harris and stepson of her husband William Harris. The couple was also charged in the scheme.
Space is so limited in the judge’s Aspen courtroom that some victims may have to be seated in other areas of the 130-year-old courthouse.
Some also may have to testify remotely from inside the courthouse, given they may be at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because of age or physical limitations.
Public health guidelines advise at least six feet of social distancing to avoid transmission of the highly contagious virus.
Those who wish to watch the proceedings can do so via the U.S. District Court’s website at www.nmd.uscourts. gov. The process includes phoning an intake clerk beforehand for login credentials.
During an earlier March 2 sentencing in the case, the Harris couple failed to appear, fled New Mexico and were arrested in Oklahoma six weeks later. They are awaiting sentencing in New Mexico, while former chief financial officer Sharon Moore is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Young, considered a minor player in the embezzlement and money laundering scheme, received $80,000 a year as a guardian who handled finances for Ayudando clients. He is accused of receiving more than $1 million from client accounts, used for gambling, personal expenses and to pay his home mortgage.