# Joseph Johnson

Type: Person

Source: Legal & RegTech Intelligence Brief — https://getlegalbrief.com/entity/joseph-johnson
Canonical HTML page: https://getlegalbrief.com/entity/joseph-johnson

## Timeline

- **2026-09-04**: Guilty plea in state case — Williams Stapleton changes her plea to guilty on state charges including fraud and money laundering; the plea agreement calls for 10 1/2 years and more than $1.8 million in restitution.
- **2026-08-14**: Federal conviction — A federal jury convicts Williams Stapleton of dozens of charges in the parallel federal case, roughly three weeks before her state plea.
- **2021**: Search warrants and resignation — Search warrants are served at Williams Stapleton's home in summer 2021; she resigns from the House two days later and Albuquerque Public Schools fires her.
- **2021**: State charges filed — New Mexico prosecutors file money laundering, racketeering and other charges against Williams Stapleton.
- **1994**: Elected to New Mexico House — Sheryl Williams Stapleton is first elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives, beginning a nearly three-decade political career.

## Recent coverage (1 stories)

### NM Lawmaker's 10.5-Year Guilty Plea Caps $3M School-Fund Fraud Case
2026-09-05 11:40:45 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 4

A former New Mexico House majority leader has pleaded guilty to state fraud and money-laundering charges three weeks after a federal jury convicted her on parallel counts, underscoring how dual-sovereign prosecutions can compress defense options. The agreement drops all but four state charges and imposes 10 1/2 years plus more than $1.8 million in restitution for diverting over $3 million in vocational-education funds. The case offers a concrete study in plea strategy, restitution allocation, and public-corruption enforcement.
Full story: https://getlegalbrief.com/story/nm-lawmaker-guilty-plea-school-fund-fraud

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