Friday, January 6, 2017

Tribal Leaders Indicted By The Feds

It will be interesting to follow this case and see how far shouting "tribal sovereignty" gets them.

Any of this sound familiar?

Red Bluff Daily News - Ex-Nomlaki tribal officials indicted on federal charges

Excerpt:

A federal grand jury returned a 69-count indictment Thursday against three former officials of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, charging them with conspiracy to embezzle tribal funds, embezzlement of tribal funds, making false statements to federal agents and tax charges.

The indictment against John Crosby, 53, of Redding, Ines Crosby, 73, of Orland, and Leslie Lohse, 62, of Glenn County, was announced in a press release issued by Phillip Talbert, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California.

The tribe operates the Rolling Hills Casino located on tribal land near Corning.

The indictment alleges that between January 2009 and May 2014, the defendants, who had access to tribal funds, embezzled at least $6 million of that money for their own personal expenses. They allegedly sought to conceal the embezzlement by creating a false line-of-credit document and remotely accessing the tribe’s computers to destroy evidence. John Crosby and Lohse are accused of submitting tax returns that omitted the embezzled funds, while, Ines Crosby failed to file any tax returns.

The three were among four members of the tribal council were ousted by tribal membership in April 2014, which culminated in a prolonged armed standoff at the casino in June 2014, the destruction of computer records and the disappearance of a private jet owned by the tribe.

Read the full article at the link above

More:

sacbee.com- Former tribal leaders indicted on charges they looted $6 million from Corning’s Rolling Hills Casino

BY SAM STANTON
sstanton@sacbee.com
 My feed
Three former officials of the tribe that owns the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning were indicted Thursday on charges they embezzled at least $6 million from the tribal coffers and used the money to purchase cars, international junkets, gold coins and landscaping for their homes with such features as koi ponds and a putting green.

The 69-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Sacramento alleges that John Crosby, the tribe’s onetime economic development director; Ines Crosby, his mother and the former tribal administrator; and Leslie Lohse, Ines Crosby’s sister and the former tribal treasurer, engaged in a sweeping conspiracy to loot the tribal bank accounts, then lied to FBI agents investigating the matter.

The indictment follows years of controversy involving the tribal government and the casino. Warring factions in the tribe at various times engaged in an armed standoff outside the casino, went to court over control of the casino and endured a cyberattack that destroyed computer records – one that the indictment blames on the three defendants.

The dispute also included a lawsuit claiming wrongdoing under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act that named the defendants and more than a dozen others.

Read the full article at the link above

Also:

Tribe, Bank Rebuked Over Embezzlement Suit Discovery Row

By Christine Powell

Law360, New York (December 9, 2016, 4:09 PM EST) -- A California federal magistrate judge on Thursday called behavior during a discovery dispute between the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and a bank it has asserted claims against in its lawsuit accusing former tribal officials of a sprawling embezzlement scheme "unacceptable."

The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians alleged that Cornerstone Community Bank, CEO Jeffrey Finck and parent company Cornerstone Community Bancorp aided and abetted ex-tribe leaders in misappropriation, and that the bank and its parent company are liable for breach of contract.

Read the full article at the link above