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Copyright © 2013 Albuquerque Journal

The Student Bar Association at the University of New Mexico is under investigation for an unauthorized, off-campus bank account used to cover the tab at wine bars, liquor stores, nail salons and restaurants, according to Law School officials.

Records also show a number of cash withdrawals from the account, which contains money from the university and fees paid by Law School students. The withdrawals being investigated occurred from April 2012 through April 2013, according to the records.

UNM’s Internal Audit Department is investigating to determine whether laws were violated, according to a statement released Monday by the university. The questionable spending involves thousands of dollars during the 2012-13 budget year, and some of the costs were incurred in San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to Law School officials and documents released Monday. However, the total amount under investigation is unclear.

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The account has since been closed.

UNM’s Police Department is aware of the ongoing audit “and will review the findings to determine if further action should be taken,” according to the statement. Also, as required by law and university policy, UNM has notified State Auditor Hector Balderas of a possible misuse of funds and will send the results of its investigation to his office when it is completed.

The UNM statement said the account is contrary to a university policy that pertains to “Faculty, staff, students, and volunteers who receive University monies (and who) are responsible for the collection, safekeeping, and deposit of all monies entrusted to them and for the safety of employees who handle the monies.”

Campus groups that collect student money must deposit it into an account established by the university controller, according to a Sept. 3 memo from Bonnie Stepleton, assistant dean for student services, and Carol Parker, associate dean for finance and administration, that was sent to last year’s Student Bar Association officers. It does not name them.

The memo, and an earlier one in August, demanded from the officers:

⋄ All bank account statements since the account was opened;

⋄ A written statement of the business purpose of each transaction made during your term as SBA officers; and

⋄ A copy of all expenditure receipts available.

UNM on Monday released to the Journal numerous pages of bank statements for the account at the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union.

It was unclear how many students had access to and used the off-campus account, but it may have been just one person who was not identified.

The bank statements show a number of cash withdrawals within a two-week period in April 2012. For example, a withdrawal of $303 was made on April 15 from a Central Avenue location. Another withdrawal of $300 was made at a Lomas Avenue facility three days later; another for $143 on April 24 from a Menaul address; and yet another on April 26 for $300, also from the Lomas address.

The records list withdrawals made through April of this year.

Several expenditures were made from establishments that sell alcohol: the Zinc Wine Bar and Bistro, the Ferrari Carano Winery, Jubilation Wine and Spirits, Kelly’s Brewery and O’Niell’s Pub – two of which were made on the same day. One was for $254, the other for $331.

Other expenditures were made at hotels and restaurants, including a Hyatt Hotels Resort and Spa, Starbucks and Korean BBQ House. Most were made in Albuquerque, but some were in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Other expenditures were for utilities, including the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and New Mexico Gas Co., and retail stores, such as a Target and Tiffany’s in San Francisco.

There also was an $80 payment to Betty’s Bath and Day Spa.

Two $70 payments went toward registration fees for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, an ethics test that aspiring lawyers must pass before they take the state bar exam.

The documents were released to the Journal under the Inspection of Public Records Act. A law student, Christopher Dodd, initiated the request. On Monday, he told the Journal he had hoped to remain anonymous, but later in the day he sent out an email to the UNM Law School community outlining his request and attaching all of the documents.

He said in the email that he submitted the IPRA request to the university custodian of records, seeking documents indicating amounts believed to have disappeared from the UNM School of Law Student Bar Association’s bank accounts in the past three years.

“I felt that as the issue concerns our money, every student is entitled to see the records,” he said in his email.

The university, in its statement, said, “While the investigation is moving forward, UNM is complying with public requests for information by the media and other parties under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA), balanced with the legal restrictions required under Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of students. Any information that identifies students related to this investigation is a violation of FERPA. …

“University Counsel and UNM Communications staff will continue to work to comply with requests for information as efficiently and transparently as possible without jeopardizing the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”