Police pursue records related to SWAIA tsunami fund

While John Torrez Nez, the former executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, pleaded not guilty to charges that he embezzled money raised in a 2011 online art auction that was meant to benefit victims of a tsunami in Japan, state police are continuing to investigate the allegations against him.

On Monday, an investigator for the agency filed a new search warrant seeking records related to a Facebook page titled “Native American Artists for Japan” reportedly associated with the fundraising effort.

In his affidavit for the search warrant, New Mexico State Police investigator Nicholas Levine states that analysis of Torres Nez’s bank accounts revealed that $36,819 was transferred from an account associated with the online art auction to Torres Nez’s personal bank accounts, but “no record was located indicating money was transferred by him from the above accounts to the Internal Committee of the Red Cross,” which was supposed to have received the money.

The allegations against Torres Nez first came to light in 2014, shortly after he resigned from SWAIA to start the Indigenous Fine Art Market, which is held the same weekend as SWAIA’s well-known Indian Market. His supporters said the accusations were made in retaliation for Torres Nez’s work with the competing market and the money — which was raised by selling artwork donated by Native artists — had been paid out to the Red Cross.

But a grand jury in May indicted Torres Nez on two felony counts of embezzlement — a second-degree felony for embezzlement over $20,000 and a third degree felony for embezzlement of over $2,500 but less than $20,000.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges in June and is awaiting trial in the case.