Photo by Steve Wampler

Photo by Steve Wampler

Attorney General Gary King would get extra muscle to go after taxpayer money lost to fraud, if Gov. Bill Richardson signs a state budget the Legislature passed last week.

The budget earmarks $150,000 for King to hire a full-time attorney to focus on court complaints filed by citizens who believe that the state has been defrauded, resulting in the loss of taxpayer money.

A full-time attorney dedicated to so-called qui tam lawsuits could represent a financial boon to the state.

A 2007 state law allows New Mexico to recover up to triple the amount of money it has lost because of fraud.

Gov. Bill Richardson still must sign the budget bill for it to become law, but King said Monday that once it’s signed, he plans to move quickly to hire an experienced full-time attorney who would focus on 100 or so qui tam lawsuits currently before his agency.

The issue of qui tam lawsuits has emerged as a major issue since Frank Foy, a former investment officer at the state Educational Retirement Board, alleged fraud in the loss of tens of millions of dollars related to state investments that eventually went sour. Foy filed the complaint in 2008, naming several defendants, including several public officials.

Foy originally alleged $90 million was lost due to fraud in his suit, meaning that if Foy proves his case the damages collected could rise to $270 million. Foy and his attorney would collect a portion of that award.

Foy and his attorney have since revised upwards the amount of money they say the state lost due to fraud.

Some state lawmakers expressed concern, and even anger, during this year’s 30-day legislative session at the number of qui tam lawsuits that have piled up at the Attorney General’s office.

“It is a clear directive from the Legislature to the Attorney General’s office that we expect these cases to get off the dime,” State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said Monday of the $150,000 earmark.

Cervantes sponsored the 2007 law that allows citizens to file legal complaints alleging fraud and attempt to recover the lost money.

The attorney general’s office doesn’t have any one lawyer assigned to addressing the qui tam lawsuits, but has several lawyers working piecemeal on the complaints, King said, explaining the backlog of qui tam lawsuits at his agency.

The money in the state budget comes a year after King asked the Legislature for help in addressing the number of lawsuits piling up at his office. Last year state lawmakers approved a position for a full-time attorney dedicated to qui tam lawsuits—but did not fund the position.

The $150,000 appropriation does not represent additional dollars for his agency, King explained Monday. It merely directs him how to spend $150,000 of his more than $15 million budget.

The money would pay the salary and benefits for an experienced full attorney, a portion of the staff time and the related costs in such cases, like expert witnesses, discovery and printing costs that go into such cases, King said.

The full-time attorney would split his time between going after potentially recoverable money and determining which qui tam lawsuits to pursue. The AG’s office has 60 days under the 2007 act to decide whether to take a case or release it to a private attorney, who can go after the money. The Attorney General’s office released the Foy case, allowing a private attorney to pursue the recovery of the money alleged to have been lost because of fraud.

He won’t have any problems finding an experienced full-time attorney for the position, King said.

“There’s a good talent pool of lawyers looking for work,” King said.