AG seizes former AD Krebs’ credit card records
Search tied to investigation into alleged misuse of public funds
Authorities investigating former University of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs have seized his credit card records in an effort to probe further into his potential misuse of public funds.
Reports surfaced Tuesday that the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office issued a search warrant last month to J.P. Morgan Chase in an attempt to review account activity between May 1 and July 31 of 2017.
Krebs held a Chase credit card that, according to the documents in the search warrant, he used to make a $25,000 donation using public funds to the UNM Foundation to help cover losses for an ill-fated golfing fundraiser to Scotland in 2015.
Krebs has been under investigation by the attorney general for misuse of public funds, but the findings have revealed a tangled web of cover-ups and misdirections that implicate several people, including Krebs’ wife, Marjori, and members of both the UNM Foundation and Lobo Club.
The narrative is the Scotland trip, which had 24 packages for members of the athletic department staff and a number of select boosters. It was billed as a fundraiser, but media inquiries later revealed that the outing incurred heavy losses that were paid for by the athletic department using public resources. What’s more, the documents included in the search warrant show Krebs overstepped his bounds as athletic director when he signed a contract on UNM’s behalf with Anthony
Travel on Oct. 29, 2014, to set up the Scotland trip. His job description prohibited him from making such arrangements.
“The signing of the contract appears to be a violation of UNM Contracts Signature Authority and Review Policy 2010,” the search warrant states.
The entire Scotland package cost $247,176, and Krebs authorized an immediate payment of $49,500 as a deposit. UNM was unable to fill all 24 packages, leaving the department on the hook for $63,949.
Krebs used his Chase credit card to make a $25,000 donation to the foundation to cover part of the losses and then stated publicly that the matter had been corrected, attempting to make it appear as though the money came from an anonymous donor. The attorney general’s investigation found evidence that shows Krebs’ attempts to cover his tracks.
Neither he nor the university ever revealed that the source of the donation was Krebs himself. The credit card records show Krebs’ name on a donation receipt with the last four digits of the Chase card issued to him.
Krebs was UNM’s athletic director from 2006-17, retiring in the wake of the Scotland trip’s story going public.
Attorney General Special Agent Antonio Vargas issued the search warrant, dated Sept. 24.
“We must continue to fight against corruption within large institutions in New Mexico, including public institutions with duties of transparency and fiscal trust,” said Attorney General Hector Balderas in a statement issued Tuesday evening. “As the public deserves answers, we will continue our highly active investigation into financial transactions at UNM. We will provide the public with updates as we are able.”