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Press Release

Three Individuals Plead Guilty To Conspiracy, Embezzlement Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Oklahoma

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lucinda Lindsey, age 44, of Earlsboro, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to Conspiracy, 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, and that Charlene Devoanna Cloud, age 48, of Seminole, Oklahoma, and Aletha Ann Wise, age 36, of Earlsboro, Oklahoma, entered guilty pleas to Embezzlement And Theft From Indian Tribal Organization, 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 beginning on or about January 2, 2013, and continuing thereafter until on or about February 16, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, Lucinda Lindsey, knowingly and willfully conspired with others, unknown and known to the grand jury, to commit an offense against the United States, that is, Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization.

The Indictment further alleges that from on or about June 11, 2014, to on or about February 16, 2016, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendants, Charlene Devoanna Cloud and Aletha Ann Wise, being employees of an Indian tribal organization, that is, the Seminole Nation Business, Commerce, and Regulatory Commission, did steal, embezzle and willfully and knowingly convert to their own use moneys, funds and credits with a value of more than $1,000.00 belonging to the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1163 and 2. 

The charges arose from an investigation by the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police, the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Criminal Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder and Honorable Kimberly E. West, U.S. Magistrate Judges in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty pleas of Cloud and Lindsey respectively. The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea of Wise. Completion of presentence investigation reports were ordered for all defendants.    

First Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Wilson represented the United States.

Updated September 27, 2019

Topics
Financial Fraud
Indian Country Law and Justice