Former Spirit Lake Tribal Employee Pleads Guilty to Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization
FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 26, 2012,
Brooke Black, 29, of Fort Totten, ND, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft and
embezzlement from an Indian Tribal organization.
Black, an employee with the Food Distribution Program, pleaded guilty to theft and
embezzlement from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, on the Spirit
Lake Indian Reservation. Black submitted applications for assistance that did not include
the total income and size of her household, thereby making her eligible to receive fuel
assistance. The incidents occurred from October 2008 through March 2011 on the Spirit
Lake Indian Reservation.
The charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of up to one year imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sentencing for Black has been scheduled for April 23, 2012, in U.S. District Court
in Fargo, N.D., at 2:00 p.m.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Janice M. Morley and Brett Shasky prosecuted the case.
