Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Embezzlement from Oglala Lakota College

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Embezzlement from an Indian Tribal Organization was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

John Jay Hussman III, age 33, was sentenced on September 24, 2020, to time served, 2 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $3,086.52 in restitution to Pizza Hut.

Hussman was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2019.  The charge related to Hussman coming into possession of a check written on the account of Oglala Lakota College to OST Financial Services in the amount of $2,004.25.  Hussman endorsed the check in his own name and deposited it in his personal checking account in Gordon, Nebraska, on December 17, 2018.  Hussman then engaged in a spending spree, depleting his checking account by making purchases at various local and online retailers, making ATM withdrawals, and making a payment to a credit card. 

Hussman paid this money back to the Oglala Lakota College before sentencing.  As part of the plea agreement, Hussman was also ordered to pay $3,086.52 in restitution to Pizza Hut and a second Larceny charge was dismissed.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama prosecuted the case.