Krebs’ criminal charges shouldn’t be the last play

It’s University of New Mexico former Athletics Director Paul Krebs who is facing a litany of criminal charges in connection with a 2015 UNM golf trip to Scotland that was paid for with public funds — and the alleged coverup that followed.

But while it’s Krebs who is looking at up to 15 years in prison if convicted of all the charges — ranging from fraud to money laundering to tampering with evidence — the criminal complaint brought by the office of Attorney General Hector Balderas also raises questions about UNM’s financial oversight mechanisms, who knew what when, and the role played by the UNM Foundation and Lobo Club. These aren’t trivial questions, and Balderas hasn’t ruled out the possibility others could be charged in a scandal that has rocked UNM and provided fodder for critics in the Legislature and elsewhere.

New Mexicans, taxpayers, UNM donors and Lobo fans deserve to have those questions fully explored and answered.

To recap, Balderas filed a criminal complaint last week charging that Krebs, who retired in June 2017 amid controversy over the trip, booked the outing with an out-of-state travel company and directed his assistant to make payments with a UNM purchasing card — in increments less than $10,000 so as not to hit the threshold for review and approval.

Some of the paperwork for the trip said it was for a “Mens Bball Tournament in Ireland” — not true — and several donors or potential donors were comped on the trip — which Krebs later described as a donor cultivation effort.

As part of the investigation, the Attorney General’s Office served a search warrant on the Lobo Club — the chief fundraising arm for UNM athletics — and seized records related to the sale of suites at Dreamstyle Arena and failure to collect for them. Those records also show Krebs asked the Lobo Club to ante up nearly $50,000 for a deposit to the out-of-state travel company that handled the Scotland trip. It appears that money eventually was repaid to the club in the form of a refund from the travel company and $13,625 from UNM.

Krebs used his “powers and resources of public office to obtain personal benefits or to pursue private interest,” the criminal complaint alleges. Krebs’ wife and son made the Scotland trip, but there is no indication UNM paid their tab.

Krebs eventually repaid $25,000 to UNM to cover the fiasco, but the way he did it made the whole affair seem fishy. He funneled the money through his wife to a UNM Foundation official and obtained a tax receipt for it, but said it came from an “anonymous” donor. The AG says the “donation” was made using Krebs’ professional contacts and was done “after hours in a non-traditional manner” to pursue “private interests” rather than in the advancement of the public interest.

He also allegedly ordered the destruction of emails and documents — public records belonging to the University of New Mexico. Hitting that delete button is not a good way to stay out of jail.

Then, UNM Foundation officials perhaps thought they were doing him a favor — they weren’t — by refusing to tell the AG investigator who actually made the $25,000 “donation.” Instead, they foolishly told the AG to take a hike and redacted Krebs’ name from the credit card receipt used to make the payment. To no avail, of course, as the AG got the information via a search warrant on Krebs’ bank.

Meanwhile, the AG also alleges Krebs told Lobo Club employees who were trying to collect money due for the Dreamstyle suites to stand down.

The attorney general and university officials owe the public a full, fair and complete explanation of what transpired in UNM’s Athletics Department, the UNM Foundation and the Lobo Club, as well as what the motives were. Without that, this is just one more bad game plan UNM will have to deal with for years to come.