New Mexico’s top prosecutor is suing Western New Mexico University's regents and outgoing president to try to undo a lucrative severance package that included a nearly $2 million payout approved in the wake of a scathing report that detailed wasteful spending and lax financial oversight at the school.
State Attorney General Raúl Torrez outlined a number of allegations that included breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of the state's open meetings law and state constitution. He also raised questions about who at the university rushed to issue a check to Shepard, noting that some regents already had resigned amid pressure from the governor.
The attorney general's office initially filed an emergency motion in state district court seeking to delay any payouts to Shepard, not knowing that a check already had been issued on Jan. 2. The state is now seeking to prohibit Shepherd from spending the money and asking the court to establish a trust where it could be deposited until the legal dispute is resolved.
Despite requests for documentation from the university, Torrez said his office has not received any records that would show who initiated the negotiations around Shepard's departure. He suggested the process has been tainted by greed and arrogance and that students will pay the price.
“It is absolutely disgraceful that the people who have been entrusted with making sure that they get the education they need to build a better future have instead used that opportunity to enrich themselves, to go on lavish taxpayer funded trips, and then when they are held to account, to hand out a golden parachute to one of their pals," Torrez said. That will not stand.”.
