Sioux City Man Who Embezzled Money from Indian Tribal Organization Sentenced to Federal Prison

A Sioux City man who engaged in rebate schemes, fraudulent invoice schemes, and stole items belonging to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska was sentenced on May 28, 2021, to 1 month in federal prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Jason Ehlers, age 48, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of embezzlement and theft from an Indian Tribal Organization.

In a plea agreement, Ehlers admitted that he stole and embezzled from the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska at least $22,432.00.  Ehlers admitted to using his position as a General Manager with BluStone Homes, also known as HoChunk Real-Estate, solely owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, to engage in rebate schemes, a fraudulent invoice scheme, and theft of construction supplies for his own benefit. 

Ehlers was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ehlers was sentenced to 1 month of imprisonment.  He must also pay a $10,000 fine and serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4089.

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