The former University of New Mexico athletic director at the University of New Mexico who is accused of embezzling funds has had all but two of the criminal charges he's facing dismissed just weeks before trial.
The Albuquerque Journal reported this week that prosecutors are still pursuing two counts of embezzlement against Paul Krebs, 66, in connection with allegations that he used thousands of taxpayer dollars on a lavish golf trip to Scotland in 2015 for himself, his family and a former coach. Krebs is also accused of diverting tens of thousands of public dollars to benefit his friends and family.
The trial on those charges is scheduled to begin July 17.
On June 16, the Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, dismissed four of the charges listed in a 2019 grand jury indictment.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General RaĂşl Torrez told the Albuquerque Journal that the decision to drop the charges emerged from a "comprehensive review" of all pending criminal cases Torrez inherited when he took the office in January.
Related: Report: Ex-UNM Athletic Director Seeks to Dismiss Embezzlement Charges
Related: Ex-UNM AD Paul Krebs Charged with Five Felonies
“As part of that process, a team of experienced prosecutors reviewed the evidence supporting the indictment of Paul Krebs and determined that they failed to meet essential elements of the enumerated crimes and would not support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” spokeswoman Lauren Rodriguez said in a written statement, as reported by the Albuquerque Journal.
Krebs’ attorney, Paul Kennedy, declined to comment about the dropped charges or any other aspect of the case.
Krebs, who was hired in 2006 as UNM’s vice president for athletics, was the longest tenured athletic director in Mountain West Conference history at the time he announced his retirement in 2017.
By then, Krebs was embroiled in scandal prompted by journalists who were probing details of the 2015 athletics department golf trip to Scotland.
Prosecutors allege that Krebs organized the trip through an out-of-state company that specializes in athletic travel. The Journal reported that he still faces two counts of embezzlement stemming from the Scotland trip:
- Count 1 alleges that the UNM Athletics Department paid about $24,500 to pay for “golf tours” for three people not affiliated with UNM or the UNM Association, described in court records as local donors.
- Count 2 alleges that Krebs used $13,625 in university funds to reimburse the Lobo Club for an “unreserved” golf tour package after Lobo Club funds were used to pay the travel company a deposit for the cost of the trip.
The Attorney General’s Office last week dismissed four felony charges against Krebs, including Count 3, which alleged that Krebs embezzled $9,379 in UNM funds to pay his own expenses for the Scotland trip.
Two other counts dismissed by the AG’s Office involved Krebs’ alleged attempts to conceal evidence of his actions relating to a $25,000 donation Krebs allegedly made anonymously to the UNM Foundation in 2017 with directions that it be used for the athletics department.
In May 2017, Krebs announced publicly that an “anonymous donor” had contributed $25,000 to cover UNM’s losses from the Scotland trip. Krebs’ attorney later acknowledged that Krebs himself had made the donation.
A nine-page criminal complaint filed by the AG’s office in 2019 alleged that Krebs made the donation “as a way to deflect questioning from the public and media.” Prosecutors also alleged that Krebs took steps to conceal the true source of the donation, the Journal reported.
That donation and his alleged attempts to conceal it formed the basis of two felony charges of tampering with evidence and criminal solicitation to commit tampering with evidence. Both were among the charges dismissed by the AG’s Office.
Also dismissed was an attempted tax fraud charge alleging that Krebs unsuccessfully attempted to commit tax fraud in excess of $2,500.
