Ardmore Woman Sentenced To 36 Months Probation, $21,000 Restitution For Theft From Indian Tribal Organization

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Denise Taylor, age 55, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $21,798.00 for Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1163. The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Indictment alleged that from on or about March 19, 2017, to on or about March 29, 2017, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did steal, embezzle and knowingly and willfully convert to her own use goods, assets, and other property, with a value in excess of $1,000.00, which had been entrusted to her custody and care as an employee of the Chickasaw Nation’s Ardmore Smoke Shop # 1, an Indian tribal organization.                         

United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said, “The defendant has been prosecuted and is being held accountable for her criminal conduct due to the thorough investigation submitted to this office by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the work of the members of the United States Attorney’s Office. She will be supervised and monitored during her probationary period by the United States Probation Office that diligently serves the Eastern District of Oklahoma. That office will hold the defendant accountable and ensure that she complies with the conditions ordered by the Court.” 

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Edward Snow represented the United States.