By office of the new mexico attorney general
• Jan 17, 2021
Credit Couy Griffin
Santa Fe, NM -Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that he has demanded that Couy Griffin resign from the Otero County Commission. In a letter sent to Griffin Saturday, the Attorney General demanded his resignation on multiple grounds, including accusations that he has misused public office for personal gain, has neglected his duties as a county commissioner, and because of his participation in the January 6th insurrectionist attack on the United States Capitol. The letter states that absent his resignation, the Office of the Attorney General will take all appropriate legal action to seek Griffin’s removal. This demand also comes as Griffin has reportedly been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas Demands Couy Griffin Resign From Otero County Commission
Office of the Attorney General to Seek Removal if Griffin Fails to Resign
SANTA FE – Attorney General Hector Balderas announced today that he has demanded that Couy Griffin resign from the Otero County Commission. In a letter sent to Griffin Saturday, the Attorney General demanded his resignation on multiple grounds, including accusations that he has misused public office for personal gain, has neglected his duties as a county commissioner, and because of his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrectionist attack on the United States Capitol.
The letter states that absent his resignation, the Office of the Attorney General will take all appropriate legal action to seek Griffin’s removal.
COVID-19 by the numbers New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 1,151 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 159,119. Of those, the health department has designated 81,603 as recovered. Bernalillo County had 352 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 127 and San Juan County with 102. Santa Fe County had 74. The state also announced 13 additional deaths, including a man in his 50s from Santa Fe County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. There have now been 2,807 fatalities statewide. As of yesterday, 702 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. Harding County became the first in the state to reach green yesterday under the state s county-level framework for assessing COVID-19. Union County met one of the two health metric thresholds test positivity rate and moves to the yellow stage. New Mexico s remaining 31 counties remain in the red, or most restrictive category, according to yesterday s biweekly update. Moreover, 20 counties
Balderas Secures Conviction Of Former Personal Care Organization Owner Who Defrauded Medicaid Program
AG News:
SANTA FE Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that his office has secured a guilty plea from Lolita Begay-Yazzie to one count of Fraud in excess of $20,000, a second degree felony, and one count of Failure to Retain Documents, a fourth degree felony for defrauding New Mexico’s Medicaid program of more than $400,000.
Begay-Yazzie owned and operated a personal care agency in Gallup.
“Medicaid ensures that almost half of all New Mexicans have access to healthcare, and we must do all we can to protect these resources that are so vital to our families,” Balderas said. “We will continue to hold anyone who tries to steal these critical healthcare resources accountable.”
COVID-19 by the numbers Over the weekend, New Mexico health officials reported 2,715 new COVID-19 cases, 1,507 on Saturday and 1,208 on Sunday. Santa Fe County had 174 additional cases: 108 and 66, respectively. There have now been a total of 156,157 cases so far in the state, 77,731 of which the health department has designated as recovered. The state also announced 39 additional deaths, with 22 on Saturday and 17 on Sunday, including one fatality from Santa Fe County, reported yesterday: a man in his 60s, who was hospitalized. As of yesterday, 682 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. You can read all of SFR s COVID-19 coverage here. If you ve had experiences with COVID-19, we would like to hear from you.