NMSP News:
The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau opened an investigation Feb. 25 into two State of New Mexico employees for falsely claiming hours on their time cards that they did not work.
Eliasib Ramirez, 41, of Chaparral and Joseph Vielma, 26, of Las Cruces, both transportation inspectors at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, have been charged with several counts of receiving public money for services not rendered after a supervisor noticed they were leaving work early and claiming overtime for hours they were not working.
During the investigation, State Police agents identified discrepancies on the two men’s time cards, daily activity logs and overtime sheets. When the two were questioned about the information, they both admitted to falsifying their time cards, overtime sheets and daily activity logs.
State Police agents filed criminal complaints Friday in the Dona Ana County Magistrate Court charging Ramirez with four felony counts of receiving public money for services not rendered. Vielma was charged with three felony counts of receiving public money for services not rendered. Both men also were charged with one felony count of forgery and one felony count of conspiracy.
Upon learning of the incident, the two men who are non-commissioned civilian state police employees, were immediately placed on administrative leave. No additional information is available at this time.
