Valencia County Finance Director Resigns After $2 Million Email Scam

Valencia County has lost more than $2 million in taxpayer funds after its finance director fell for a sophisticated email phishing scheme, wiring the money to a fraudster who spent nine months impersonating the chief financial officer of Bradbury Stamm Construction, the contractor building the new Valencia County Hospital in Los Lunas. The finance director resigned on March 13, according to the county manager.

The scam began in April 2025, when a fraudulent party first contacted the county requesting payment. The approach was calculated: the impersonator claimed to represent Bradbury Stamm and even used the real CFO's name in correspondence. The scheme gained traction when the finance director was in the midst of transitioning the county's payment system from paper checks to ACH, or automated clearing house, electronic transfers. As that switchover required vendors to submit new banking documentation, the scammer was ready. The county asked for a W-2, a letter dated no more than 30 days old, and a voided check from the target bank account. The scammer submitted all three and was approved.

In January 2026, the finance director transferred more than $2 million through the ACH system to what she believed was Bradbury Stamm's account. The fraud surfaced weeks later when the real Bradbury Construction contacted the county about an outstanding invoice it had never received. The finance director confirmed the payment had already been made. County leaders recognized the transfer as fraud, reported it to appropriate authorities, and commissioned a third-party investigation.

The ACH switchover is where oversight broke down. The county had a multi-step verification process, and the scammer cleared every checkpoint. What that process apparently lacked was a direct confirmation call to Bradbury Stamm's known phone number to verify the account change, a standard internal control that would have exposed the impersonation before any funds moved. Emails reviewed by KRQE show the back-and-forth between the finance director and the scammer stretched across months, meaning multiple opportunities existed to catch the fraud before the January transfer.

County officials say the hospital project is not affected and remains on track for completion in August. The county also says it believes the $2 million is recoverable, though no funds have been publicly confirmed as returned and no details about the recovery mechanism or timeline have been disclosed. It is also unclear which county reserves, if any, have been drawn on to cover the gap in the interim. The New Mexico State Auditor has emphasized accountability and transparency in response to the incident, though no formal audit has been announced and no criminal charges or arrests have been reported.

The public has clear, answerable questions to bring to the next Valencia County commission meeting. Who conducted the third-party investigation, and will its full findings be made public? What is the realistic timeline for recovering the $2 million, and what is the fallback if recovery fails? Which county funds or reserves absorbed the shortfall, and does that affect services or future capital projects? Beyond the finance director's resignation, what disciplinary or procedural review has been applied to the entire chain of approval for the fraudulent ACH account? Will the county adopt a mandatory callback verification policy before approving any changes to vendor banking information? And critically, will the commission authorize an independent audit of all county financial controls, not just this transaction, so residents have verified assurance that the same vulnerability does not exist elsewhere in the vendor payment system?