The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has formally charged former Athletic Director for the University of New Mexico, Paul Krebs, with five criminal complaints. The complaints listed include money laundering, tampering with evidence and fraud amounting to a total of $20,000.
“We are focused on the misuse of public tax dollars that should go to higher education opportunities for our students,” said Attorney General Hector Balderas in a written statement. “We are prepared to present this important case at trial.”
In an interview with the Daily Lobo, Attorney General spokesperson David Carl said Krebs would not be placed under arrest at this time, adding that any future decision relating to the matter would be decided upon by the courts.
The financial dealings of the Athletics Department have faced significant scrutiny since then-State Auditor Tim Keller performed an audit that found over $400,000 in uncollected revenue from luxury suites at The Pit and a lack of accountability in Lobo Club, which raises money for Athletics.
The criminal complaints stem back to a fundraising trip to Scotland that took place back in June of 2015, which then prompted scrutiny from multiple media outlets and state offices. These were included in a September 2018 Attorney General report that focused on a lack of transparency in several UNM organizations, including the Athletics Department. The trip cost a total of $64,000
According to the September report,after the Scotland trip Krebs reportedly paid the UNM Foundation $25,000. The payment was made with his credit card and made out to UNM Athletics. He then emailed his wife Marjori Krebs — an Associate Professor at the University. He instructed her to deliver a letter to the Vice President of University Development for the UNM Foundation, Larry Ryan. This letter was to be from an anonymous donor, and was said to read:
“Larry, I am writing to document the purpose of my $25,000 donation to the UNM Foundation. The money was given to support the stewardship and development efforts associated with the Athletics Department 2015 trip to Scotland. Please notify me if you need further explanation or information. Thank you, The Donor.”
Prior to her delivering of this letter, Krebs wrote an email to his wife Marjori stating:
“Larry expecting. Delete everything I sent when done so nothing discoverable in IPRA request,” Paul wrote in the email. “Including from your delete file.”
In the official criminal complaint, Ryan said he knew the donation was “to support the financial losses from the Scotland trip.” It also said that Ryan told investigators that all of his contact with the donor, whose identity he did not reveal, was done so entirely over telephone calls.
The complaint then states that the UNM Foundation General Counsel, Pat Allen, contradicted Ryan’s statement by providing a copy of the donor’s letter. Krebs’ email to his wife also seems to contradict Ryan’s statement, as the report points out.
The Attorney General’s Office also released a financial risk analysis of the Athletics Department on Wednesday. The issues mentioned include uncollected luxury suite revenue, misappropriation of funds during the Scotland trip and the fact that UNM employees have access to their work emails even after leaving the University. The report states that Krebs told current UNM employees to delete their emails, which “is a clear violation of state law.”
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Carl said the Attorney General’s Office is not currently focusing on bringing criminal charges against anyone else at this time, including Ryan.
“We’re focused solely on Krebs,” Carl said.
When asked for a statement from the Athletics Department, Frank Mercogliano, the assistant athletic director for communications, said everything related to Krebs would run through main campus and the University.
In an official statement, the University said they are aware of the charges filed against Krebs, but will not comment any further on the matter.
“It does not suggest any wrongdoing by UNM. However, we will continue to cooperate fully with the AG’s office as we have in the past,” the statement read.
Krebs served as Director of Athletics at UNM beginning in June of 2006 after a seven year tenure in the same position at Bowling Green State University. He retired from his position at UNM in July of 2017 amidst scrutiny over the Scotland trip and other and currently is the owner of P&M Educational Consultants.
Danielle Prokop contributed to this article.
Cameron Goeldner is a senior reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer, women’s basketball, softball and the Albuquerque Isotopes, but also contributes content for all other sports. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Goeldfinger.
Kyle Land is the editor in chief for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted by email at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @kyleoftheland.
