Owner of local magazine indicted for tax evasion

A grand jury has indicted the owner of a Santa Fe-based art and design magazine on charges that she tried to evade more than $1.5 million in taxes over five years.

The eight-page indictment lists 48 counts alleging attempts by Cynthia Canyon, the 58-yearold owner and publisher of Trend art+ design+ architecture+ cuisine magazine, to evade payment of taxes from July 2012 to June 2016.

Court records indicate she is scheduled for arraignment July 14 before District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. There is no indication that Canyon has hired an attorney and she did not return a voicemail message left on her phone or an email inquiry sent to her address listed on the website for Trend.

Canyon operates the magazine business out of her residence on Santa Fe’s south side. The magazine is still publishing and has been soliciting advertising and submissions by Aug. 3 for its fall issue, set for distribution in mid-September.

Canyon has a degree in business and art from Santa Monica College and has been owner and publisher of Trend since 2000, according to her LinkedIn profile. The publication focuses on national art and design trends but gears itself toward advertisers in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos. “My forte is being a visionary making things happen, reflecting and setting new trends,” she wrote.

“Trend is read nationally and globally as one of the best in print and online,” she wrote. “We publish quarterly.”

The case against Canyon was investigated by the Tax Fraud Investigations Division of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.

“This administration is committed to hunting down those who would cheat the system,” said Acting Secretary John Monforte in a statement released Friday. “Those who try to violate our tax laws will be caught and punished.”

If convicted of all charges, Canyon could face up to 72 years in prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Ben Gubernick, assistant district attorney in the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.