San Miguel County is out $38,000 after a sophisticated email scam persuaded the county finance supervisor to transfer the funds to an outside account.
New Mexico State Police is working to figure out who is behind the email, which made it appear that Les Montoya instructed finance supervisor Melinda Gonzales to transfer the money to pay a consultant.
The false email appeared to have been sent from Montoya's iPhone.
Montoya says that if policies and procedures had been followed, the money would not have been transferred.
Similar scams were sent to multiple counties and school districts in the state. Employees from San Miguel County, Zuni Public Schools and Deming Public Schools initiated transfers to the scammers totaling over $100,000, though the schools were able to stop the process.
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Information from: Las Vegas Optic, http://www.lasvegasoptic.com
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