Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) –A plea deal has been reached between prosecutors and a man accused of embezzling from the Miss New Mexico Scholarship Organization. Greg Smith, an Elida rancher, agreed to plead guillty to two misdemeanor charges of embezzlement in exchange for two years probation. Court records indicate he also agreed to pay more than $12,000 in restitution. The complaints against Smith date back to 2017 and state that Smith was refusing to give scholarship winnings to three pageant contestants when he was director of the Portales pageant. In 2019 Smith was indicted by a grand jury on 18 charges that ranged from embezzlement and fraud to issuing worthless checks and attempted tax evasion. Sixteen charges against Smith were dismissed. The NM Attorney General’s office began investigating Smith after former pageant contestants and their parents reported not receiving scholarship monies they’d won. Prosecutors alleged Smith used pageant funds for his ranch business, detailing numerous questionable purchases, withdrawals and transfers.
