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More charges likely in ENMU embezzlement case

An Eastern New Mexico University employee charged with embezzling more than $18,000 from the university said he was embarrassed and ashamed of the crimes he committed in a video of his interrogation.

Plane tickets, hotel stays, limo rides, Disney World tickets and a tiara for a drag queen contest were among the 56 unauthorized purchases Jeremy Phillippi, 26, made with a university credit card, according to an ENMU Police Department incident report.

Phillippi, the university's Math Department secretary and Science Fair coordinator, was arrested on May 4 on embezzlement and forgery charges. He remained at the Roosevelt County Detention Center as of Tuesday night on a $15,000 cash surety bond, according to detention center staff.

At the time of Phillippi's arrest, police said he had embezzled $15,000 in purchases between January and April. Further investigation revealed the amount to be $18,880, police said.

"The charges will be amended to include those purchases," said ENMU Police Chief Brad Mauldin.

Police were tipped off about suspicions surrounding purchases made by Phillippi from an employee in the school's Financial Department.

According to the incident report, Phillippi admitted to Mauldin and Detective Patricia Terry he had made those unauthorized purchases and forged his supervisors signatures, hoping it would go unnoticed.

He also admitted that he purchased hotel rooms, which he shared with other visitors.

Mauldin says Phillippi fabricated the receipts he turned into the Financial Department to make it appear as if he bought items, such as supplies, that the department would normally approve.

 
 
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