NM State Auditor Expands Special Audit of Land Office Land Deals

State Auditor Hector Balderas released a statement today announcing that after nearly nine months of conducting Special Audit procedures pertaining to the New Mexico Land Office and state trust land, sales, leases and exchanges, he will expand the scope of the Special Audit. The initial scope of the Special Audit focused on state trust land transactions involving improvement value credits offered in exchange for development of state lands.

“New Mexico has been plagued with recent scandals that have exposed fraud, waste, and abuse at every level of government,” Balderas said. “We have come across information during our Special Audit of the Land Office that compels us to expand the scope.”

Balderas has identified the following specific areas of risk that will be reviewed:

• Related-party transactions;
• Instances of financial benefit in exchange for land transactions; and
• Transactions executed between government employees and officials.

“My goal is to determine whether or not there was misappropriation and mismanagement of New Mexico’s trust lands that harms New Mexico taxpayers,” added Balderas. “Transparency and accountability should be the foundations of good government when it comes to managing New Mexico’s most precious resources.”