Attorney General Hector Balderas

AG News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Attorney General Hector Balderas announced Thursday the convictions of former Cattle Baron employees Brian and Tammy Casaus.

The married couple pled guilty to charges including racketeering, embezzlement, money laundering and tax fraud. They both face terms of incarceration, with sentencing to be held at a later date.

“New Mexicans are fed up with theft and corruption, and the defendants used their trusted positions to cheat a business and its employees,” Balderas said. “Our office will always assist law enforcement and intervene to hold bad actors accountable when they commit fraud.”  

“Cattle Baron Restaurants Inc. would like to thank the Office of the Attorney General of New Mexico and its staff for prosecuting this case and obtaining justice for Cattle Baron and the communities that it serves,” said a representative from Cattle Baron Restaurants Inc. 

Over a four-year period, the couple used their trusted positions to secretly divert more than $1,000,000 from the restaurant for their own benefit. Brian Casaus controlled the restaurant’s payroll and used that position to direct business funds into the couple’s personal accounts, crafting the transfers to look like ordinary paychecks. Tammy Casaus helped her husband by concealing the nature of the stolen money with several bank accounts and providing false information on tax documents.

Both defendants will pay restitution to the Cattle Baron, and to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. 

The case was investigated by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Special Investigations Unit and prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Andrew Coffing and Mark Probasco.