ABQ Times

A Colorado man, James Matison, has been sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $242,210 in restitution after pleading guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This decision follows a fraudulent scheme involving WildEarth Guardians, where Matison was the former Restoration Projects Director.

Court documents reveal that in 2015, Matison involved Jeffrey Ham, owner of Timberline Environmental LLC—a contractor for WildEarth Guardians—by falsely claiming financial distress due to his wife's traumatic brain injury. Matison orchestrated the creation of fake invoices from Timberline to WildEarth Guardians. These invoices were approved by him for payment, leading the non-profit organization to issue checks which were deposited into Timberline's account and then transferred to Matison's personal account.

The fraudulent activities spanned until March 2019, resulting in $242,210 in illicit billings against WildEarth Guardians. When the organization initiated an investigation into these transactions, Matison instructed Ham to fabricate new invoices as a cover-up.

Jeffrey Ham also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and received a sentence on October 3, 2024. He is required to serve three years on probation.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez along with representatives from the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General and the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General. The case was investigated by these agencies and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy Peña.