A former top official of the New Mexico Finance Authority has pleaded guilty to forgery and securities fraud charges for falsifying an agency financial audit that was distributed to bond investors earlier this year.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, ex-controller Greg Campbell had faced up to six years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to two counts of forgery and one count of securities fraud.
State District Judge Stephen Pfeffer placed Campbell on probation for five years.
The 52-year-old Campbell had served as controller from 2007 until he left in June. In that position, he was in charge of the authority's accounting operations.
The authority provides low-cost financing for capital improvements by cities, counties, schools and other New Mexico governments.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.