ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Former state representative and Albuquerque Public Schools administrator Sheryl Williams Stapleton, accused of funneling millions of dollars into her own pockets, faced a federal judge on Tuesday after being indicted last month.
Williams Stapleton walked into the federal court house marking her first public appearance since she was indicted on state charges in 2021. She was arraigned on 35 charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, fraud, and multiple counts of bribery and laundering. She pled not guilty to her federal charges.
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Williams Stapleton and Joseph Johnson are accused of allocating more than $2.5 million of federal funds intended for APS programs to a company called Robotics Management Learning Systems between 2013 and 2021. The company was owned and operated by Johnson who is a friend of Willliams Stapleton.
Prosecutors say he provided Williams Stapleton with blank checks from robotics. They say she wrote 233 checks totaling more than $1 million for her own benefits. The funds were used for various things like paying a lawyer to defend one of her family members in a criminal case and paying the concession stand feeds for her husband’s restaurant at the New Mexico State Fair.
Johnson was also arraigned on Tuesday morning. He pled not guilty to his 28 federal charges. He is not facing any start charges. Stapleton was indicted on 28 state charges back in 2021. Her trial is scheduled to begin in late May.
