New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez opened an investigation Thursday into allegations that written public comments supporting a pending air quality permit application for Project Jupiter, the Oracle and OpenAI data center campus under construction in Doña Ana County, were “fraudulently” submitted under residents’ names without their knowledge or consent.
Source NM reported last week that residents in three New Mexico cities said their names and email addresses were used to write public comment letters supporting the development’s air quality permit application after they were approached by canvassers wearing Project Jupiter T-shirts. Since then, several elected officials have said their names and email addresses were similarly used on letters they never wrote.
One state lawmaker, Rep. Cristina Parajón (D-Albuquerque), previously told Source NM that the supportive letter was made using her official legislative email address. She said she believes the action constitutes impersonating a government official.
The public comment period for Project Jupiter’s air quality permit application, which was filed by developer Yucca Growth Infrastructure, ended Monday.
In a letter sent to New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney Thursday morning, New Mexico Department of Justice Chief of Civil Affairs Billy Jimenez wrote that his office has received several complaints about the pro-Project Jupiter letters.
“We have reason to believe that an unknown, but potentially substantial number of the comments were fraudulently submitted without the consent or knowledge of the individuals named,” Jimenez wrote. “Given the seriousness of these complaints, our office has opened an investigation. Protecting the integrity of the permitting process is essential to maintaining public trust, especially considering the scale of the project Yucca Growth is pursuing.”
Jimenez requested that NMED officials share any information they have regarding the matter and cooperate fully with the attorney general’s investigation.
“Our goal is to quickly determine the validity of these complaints and ensure that any necessary corrective actions are taken,” he wrote. “The Department should carefully review and scrutinize the public comments being submitted in this permit matter in light of these issues.”
The New Mexico Environment Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The New Mexico Department of Justice encourages residents whose names have appeared on public comment letters without their consent to contact the department through its online complaint portal or by phone at 505-490-4060.
In a statement, Torrez said it’s paramount to ensure that “every voice is authentic” in the public participation process.
“If individuals or organizations attempted to manipulate the public comment process through fraudulent submissions, we will investigate those actions thoroughly and hold responsible parties accountable,” he said.
