New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is seeking to stop outgoing Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard from spending a $1.9 million severance payment issued to him a week ago. Torrez filed a supplementary restraining order Thursday and a new complaint alleging additional violations on the part of Shepard and the university board of

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Monday filed an emergency motion in court to stop Western New Mexico University (WNMU) from paying a near $2 million severance payment to departing President Dr.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has filed a court motion to block a $1.9 million severance payment to former WNMU President Joseph Shepard. The motion claims the payment is a misuse of public funds and violates the fiduciary duties of the Board of Regents.

The Attorney General is asking a court to act after WNMU paid outgoing president Joseph Shepard a $1.9 million severance payment negotiated, he says, in violation of state laws.

New Mexico’s top prosecutor is suing Western New Mexico University's regents and outgoing president to try to undo a lucrative severance package that included a nearly $2 million payout approved in the wake of a scathing report that detailed wasteful spending and lax financial oversight at the school.

Raúl Torrez also filed a complaint seeking to end Joseph Shepard's separation agreement, which the lawsuit calls an "unconscionable contract."