TAOS — The executive director of the Taos County Housing Authority is the target of an embezzlement investigation based on evidence that suggests federal funds were illegally diverted to bank accounts held by the director and members of her family.

An affidavit signed by a special agent with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that there is probable cause to believe longtime housing authority employee Carmella Martínez had been embezzling federal housing funds since as far back as 2000. The affidavit does not say how much money is suspected of being embezzled.

Frank Fisher, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Albuquerque, confirmed that the agency served a search and seizure warrant at the housing authority offices and at two storage units last week. An inventory of seized items turned in to federal district court on Dec. 9 states that a computer, digital files and financial documents were taken by authorities during the search.

No arrests were made during the search, Fisher said.

The special agent's affidavit states that there is probable cause to believe Martínez embezzled Housing Choice Voucher Program funds that came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That program (also known as Section 8) helps provide housing to low-income families by paying landlords the difference between what tenants can afford and the going rate for rent. Payments to landlords are called "housing assistance payments" or HAP.

According to the affidavit, bank records from four separate financial institutions show that Martínez held multiple joint bank accounts with her husband, Paul G. Martínez, and one joint account with her father, Rogerio Archuleta. The special agent reported that there were "numerous deposits of Section 8 HAP checks into these bank accounts." The agent stated that the checks were made payable to all three family members.

Martínez did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

While the total amount of money allegedly embezzled was not included in the case documents, the affidavit states that the Taos County Housing Authority receives about $2.8 million in federal funding each year.

Bankruptcy records from the Federal District Court of New Mexico show that Paul G. Martínez and Carmella Martínez were debtors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding amounting to almost $127,000 that began in 1999. The case was dismissed in 2002.

According to the affidavit, a "confidential source" tipped off a special agent with the FBI office in Santa Fe in August alleging the embezzlement, prompting investigations by the FBI and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Another confidential source, identified as a housing authority employee, is cited in the affidavit as having "observed, stored and retrieved" files from the two storage units that were searched last week.

Martínez, a resident of Arroyo Seco, was first hired as a temporary county employee in 1989. She has held various positions at the Taos County Housing Authority since 1991. She was appointed interim executive director in 2008, and hired as executive director in 2009.

County manager Jacob Caldwell said Martínez was put on "administrative leave" as of Dec. 7.

In the early 1990s, two Taos County Housing Authority employees pled guilty to embezzling federal housing funds.