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Woman facing 6 years in prison

Estate embezzlement surpassed $800,000
Torres

A Bloomfield, New Mexico, woman has pled guilty to felony theft, specifically embezzling money as conservator for the trust of Tony Simon Archuleta of Durango.

Mary Torres, 64, agreed to serve up to six years in prison and to pay restitution at a minimum of $173,402.80.

Torres is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11 by 6th Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson.

Assistant District Attorney Christian Champagne and later Deputy District Attorney Justin Fay prosecuted the case. Arlon Stoker of Farmington represented Torres.

Torres was a court-appointed conservator for Archuleta, who was left money by his father. She held the appointment from 2006 to November 2012.

The embezzlement came to light when Judge David Dickinson alerted law enforcement of possible theft.

An investigation turned up numerous discrepancies between transactions reported by Torres and bank records.

Thefts from the Archuleta estate occurred from 2007 through 2012. It’s believed Torres stripped the Archuleta estate of more than $800,000. She was arrested Jan. 25, 2013.

Tony Archuleta’s father, Salomon Archuleta, now deceased, owned several pieces of real estate in downtown Durango and also received natural-gas and oil royalties.

daler@durangoherald.com



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