Former Paskenta Tribal Leaders Sentenced To Prison

Source:

Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California - Former Members of Tribal Leadership Sentenced for Multimillion Dollar Embezzlement Scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three former leaders of the Paskenta Tribe of Nomlaki Indians were sentenced today for a conspiracy to embezzle or steal from a tribal organization, as well as tax fraud and tax evasion offenses, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced John A. Crosby, 56, of Redding, to four years and nine months in prison and to pay a $10,000 fine; Ines S. Crosby, 76, of Orland, to four years and nine months years in prison; and Leslie A. Lohse, 67, of Glenn, to three years and five months in prison. Lohse has paid $902,208 in restitution prior to today’s sentencing hearing. A hearing will be held on April 19, 2022, to determine the amount of restitution John Crosby and Ines Crosby will pay.

According to court documents, from approximately January 2009 through May 2014, the defendants took millions of dollars from the Paskenta Tribe of Nomlaki Indians without tribal or legal authority, taking advantage of their positions on the Tribal Counsel and in prominent leadership positions in the tribe.

Continue Reading Here -- Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California - Former Members of Tribal Leadership Sentenced for Multimillion Dollar Embezzlement Scheme

Former Paskenta Tribal Leaders Found Guilty

Hat tip to the commenter who pointed out this article.

Paskenta tribal leader: Guilty pleas are 'vindication' for Tribe after millions stolen

Excerpt:

The defendants are the former Tribal Economic Development Director, John A. Crosby, 56, of Redding; the former Tribal Administrator Ines S. Crosby, 76, of Orland; and the former Tribal Treasurer Leslie A. Lohse, 64, of Glenn.

The trio pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court, to charges of conspiracy to embezzle or steal from a tribal organization, as well as tax fraud and tax evasion offenses.

“The defendants used the Tribe’s accounts as their personal piggy banks,” said Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “For at least five years the defendants took more than $4.9 million of the Tribe’s money and intentionally failed to declare it as income to the IRS. This resulted in a tax loss of over $1.6 million.”

Read the full article at the link above

Indictments of Paskenta Officials - Any of This Sound Familiar?

Below is a link to another article on the indictments of John Crosby (former FBI Agent), Ines Crosby (his mother), and Leslie Lohse (hist sister).  Lohse was at one time the treasurer of the California Tribal Business Alliance which Robert Smith is Chair of.  I recommend reading the whole article but I will post an excerpt:

Gross & Klein LLP: Federal Jury Indicts Two Former Paskenta Tribe Employees on Embezzlement Charges

Excerpt:

As detailed in the Tribe's related civil federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) complaint filed in March 2015 in the U.S. District Court,  Eastern District of  California, against John Crosby, Ines Crosby, Leslie Lohse, and others, they and their co-conspirators used vicious and callous methods of intimidation and coercion to maintain access to the Tribe's money, millions of which they stole in order to live a life of obscene luxury, while services to Tribal members went unfunded and Tribe members lived in fear of economic retaliation.
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Any of that sound familiar?

Read the whole article at the link above.

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

Paskenta Elections To Settle Dispute

Article Excerpts:

http://www.modbee.com Warring factions in Corning casino tribe agree to election to settle dispute

BY STEPHEN MAGAGNINI

After weeks of armed standoffs, cyber attacks, allegations of multimillion-dollar theft and legal battles over who controls the tribe’s $100 million-a-year casino, warring factions of the Paskenta band of Nomlaki Indians in Tehama County have agreed to a binding general election to settle their dispute.

A federal judge in Sacramento signed off Monday on the landmark agreement, which came after a marathon three-day mediation that included 12 consecutive hours of negotiations at one stretch, said Andy Freeman, who is recognized as tribal chair by both factions. “The mediation went well. It gave us the opportunity to talk to each other and see both sides,” Freeman said. “The bottom line is the whole tribe needs to talk.”

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The dispute centered on allegations by Freeman and other council members that Tribal Economic Development Director John Crosby, a former FBI agent, misappropriated $1.4 million from tribal accounts to pay for his house, swimming pool, basketball court and remodeling work, along with several cars and $209,000 worth of gold. Tribal Treasurer Leslie Lohse, one of the ousted council members, was accused of embezzling money and misusing the tribe’s jet to attend her son Kyle’s professional baseball games.

Freeman produced canceled checks to support his allegations of wrongdoing. Crosby and Lohse, in turn, supplied employment contracts indicating they were each granted $5 million lines of credit “to either be paid forgiven or extended” after 2020 if they negotiated a new gambling compact with the state. Both said they’ve acted in the tribe’s best interests.

Read Full Article Here -->http://www.modbee.com Warring factions in Corning casino tribe agree to election to settle dispute 

Leslie Lohse is Chair of the California Tribal Business Alliance (CTBA).  Robert Smith is CTBA's Treasurer.  Pala is one of the Three Tribes that make up the California Tribal Business Alliance along with Paskenta and Viejas.


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