Durant Woman Pleads Guilty To Tribal Theft

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Nichole Marie Schell Loper, age 43, of Durant, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to Embezzlement And Theft From Indian Tribal Organizations, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1163, punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00, or both. 

The Indictment alleges that from in or about January 2016, to in or about June 2018, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did steal, embezzle and knowingly and willfully convert to her own use monies in excess of $1,000.00 which had been entrusted to her custody and care as an employee of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, an Indian tribal organization. 

The charges arose from an investigation by the Choctaw Nation Tribal Police. 

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  

Assistant United States Attorney Sarah McAmis represented the United States.