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The 4th Judicial District Attorney鈥檚 Office and the state attorney general have launched a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud and forgery at New Mexico Highlands University, officials announced last week.

The turmoil at the Las Vegas university began May 1, when NMHU officials placed President Neil Woolf and several high-level administrators on leave and terminated multiple other faculty members, seemingly without explanation.

The Office of the State Auditor announced on May 12 it had launched an investigation into the university after the multiple terminations, citing 鈥渟ubstantial concerns鈥� about leadership and finances.

In a lengthy response to the state auditor dated May 27, Highlands administration accused Woolf of financial mismanagement, nepotism, retaliation, procurement code violations and a pattern of religious preferential treatment with employees who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Regents allege Woolf, who is a member of the Latter-day Saints church, created new positions for Latter-day Saints candidates and showed favoritism toward employees who were members of the church. The letter alleges terminated men鈥檚 basketball coach Zach Settembre and Vice President of Advancement Paul Grindstaff were selected via inappropriate hiring methods because of their Latter-day Saints faith.

The district attorney鈥檚 criminal investigation involves allegations of fraud and forgery of Settembre鈥檚 new contract 鈥� which had been renewed April 22, days before he was placed on leave 鈥� and a falsified immigration form, both included in the letter to the state auditor.

鈥淭his office takes criminal allegations very seriously, particularly when it involves public institutions like New Mexico Highlands University,鈥� District Attorney Thomas Clayton said in a news release. 鈥淲hen allegations involve potential fraud, forged documents and the integrity of a public university, the public deserves clear answers backed by evidence.鈥�

Woolf, along with Settembre and Provost Dann Brown, were officially terminated June 2. 

The letter from NMHU administration alleges Athletic Director Scott Noble 鈥� whose signature was required on Settembre鈥檚 new contract 鈥� was against the extension because of NCAA violations 鈥渁nd other personnel issues.鈥� Regents allege Grindstaff forged Noble鈥檚 signature on the contract electronically, which would mean Settembre is not entitled to his $22,500 severance payment.

Grindstaff was terminated in May, along with Vice Presidents Johnny Montoya and David Lepre.

Settembre told the Journal last month that the allegations of forgery were false, as far as he knew.

鈥淚t was a Docusign agreement,鈥� Settembre said, referring to a software that allows users to sign documents electronically. 鈥淣o one could forge a signature on a Docusign. It goes to someone鈥檚 email. 鈥� That鈥檚 impossible to do.鈥�

Settembre said he committed no NCAA violations, but was asked by Woolf to sit out one game because of 鈥渁 handful of technical fouls.鈥�

鈥淲e were all terminated without cause,鈥� Settembre said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e removed an extremely popular president, a president that worked extremely hard.鈥�

The allegations of a falsified immigration form come from the letter, which claims the university submitted a forged document on behalf of a Mexican student who had been recruited for the NMHU men鈥檚 basketball team after graduating from a New Mexico high school.

Regents allege the university found the forged signatures of Financial Aid Director Lara Barela and Associate Athletic Director Jim Deisler on the document, a Form I-20, one of the records required for a student visa. The form was submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, then subsequently cancelled once the alleged falsification was discovered.

Woolf fired back against NMHU officials with a lawsuit, claiming that his firing was in retaliation for declining to follow an order from Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez to award a contract to a local firm operated by a friend of Sanchez and his brother in law.

The Board of Regents, in a statement, said the allegations were 鈥渨ithout merit.鈥�

Nicholas Hart, an attorney for Woolf, said in an email to the Journal that the letter to the auditor from Highlands administration containing the alleged criminal violations was retaliatory and 鈥渇ull of inaccuracies and misrepresentations.鈥�

鈥淭o be absolutely clear, the allegations against Dr. Woolf are false,鈥� Hart said. 鈥淒r. Woolf will be amending his complaint to include this as a retaliatory attack, and he will also add a religious discrimination claim for the letter鈥檚 disgusting attack on his faith.鈥�

Woolf was appointed president of NMHU in 2024 after a national search. He most recently served as executive vice president at Southern Oregon University.

Kimberly Blea, who most recently served as vice president of student affairs at NMHU, has been serving as interim president.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.