Former New Mexico AD Acquitted of Embezzlement Charges
Former University of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs was acquitted Friday of two embezzlement counts stemming from a 2015 Lobo booster golf trip to Scotland.
Krebs’ acquittal came after a four-day trial in which state prosecutors alleged he misappropriated public monies by using athletic department funds to cover a five-figure shortfall in the total $250,000 cost of the trip, which was purchased through Anthony Travel.
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The criminal prosecution of a Division I college athletic director, for a matter related to their job, is virtually unheard of. The last such instance was more than a decade ago, when former Penn State AD Tim Curley was arrested and charged for failing to report assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky to the authorities, despite being alerted to allegations of his sexually assaulting minors. Curley ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment and spent 2 1/2 months in jail.
Krebs, who prior to New Mexico was Bowling Green’s athletic director, retired from his post at UNM in June 2017, under a cloud of scandal related to the Scotland trip and other financial issues within the department. Under a previous attorney general, the state had originally charged Krebs with seven criminal counts, one of which was dropped in 2022, and four others that were dismissed last month.
Prosecutors were left with trying to convince a jury to find Krebs guilty of embezzling money that he did not personally enrich himself with—at least not directly. Had he been found guilty of either the two counts, Krebs faced a basic sentence of up to nine years in jail. However, as a first-time felon, he likely would have had a suspended or deferred sentence.
In a statement, the current New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez called on the state legislature to “consider updating and clarifying our criminal statutes so that the misconduct at issue in this case is comprehensively addressed.”
Torrez added, “While we are disappointed by the jury’s verdict, we are prepared to work with the legislature to make sure that this kind of activity is clearly and unambiguously prohibited under the law and reassure taxpayers that public resources are not used for private purposes or the interests of a privileged few.”
Krebs’ attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
At the time of his retirement, Krebs was the longest-tenured AD in the Mountain West Conference and a member of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament selection committee.
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