Albuquerque woman accused of embezzling $175K from employer

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque woman is accused of embezzling more than $175,000 from her former employer over a six-year span, according to authorities.

A criminal complaint filed earlier this month in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court shows 61-year-old Lisa Martinez is facing a second-degree felony charge of embezzlement.

Martinez worked as an accountant for an environmental remediation and construction company based in Edgewood, New Mexico from May 2011 to May 2018.

Authorities said Martinez handled the company’s accounting and also managed payroll and distributed per diem payments to employees.

The company’s owners told police they began noticing discrepancies in the accounting shortly after Martinez left.

According to the complaint, Martinez is accused of depositing the money in her bank account. She allegedly tried to disguise the payments by documenting that they were going to employees who no longer worked for the company.

It was unclear Sunday if Martinez has a lawyer yet for her case.

Her arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 14, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.