An internal audit conducted for the Oklahoma-based Quapaw Indian Nation alleges former Chairman John Berrey misappropriated millions of dollars in tribal funds. Berrey, who led the tribe for more than 20 years, was defeated last July by Joseph Tali Byrd.
The audit by Innovative Gaming Solutions of Liberty, Missouri, raised red flags about $34 million that Berrey and Quapaw Nation Secretary/Treasurer Tamara Smiley-Reeves doled out in pay raises, bonuses, severance pay and donations.
Among the expenditures were $4 million paid to former Oklahoma Sooners Coach Barry Switzer to promote the Quapaw Downstream Development Authority’s (DDA) Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Switzer said his contract to promote the Saracen casino was aboveboard.
The audit also alleges Berrey directed $2 million to three individuals who served on the DDA and made $10 million in donations in violation of tribal laws, including hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the Razorback Foundation at the University of Arkansas, Berrey’s alma mater. Other allegations in the audit include abuse of credit cards and compensation, including an $8,000 spa visit for a DDA member’s friends and family and tickets to University of Arkansas baseball games in an exclusive skybox arrangement worth tens of thousands of dollars.
The audit also indicated Berrey personally received more than $17 million dollars in bonuses and pay raises, in violation of tribe’s legal code that requires compensation and bonuses be approved by the business committee. In rebuttal, Berrey said, “Several allegations are totally untrue. Salaries, bonuses and donations all were approved using the exact same methodology from 2008 to my departure.”
Berrey, Smiley-Reeves, Switzer and others named in the audit recently filed a lawsuit against Byrd, newly elected Secretary-Treasurer Guy Barker and Michael Crump, president of Innovative Gaming Solutions, alleging slander and libel.
Berrey stated, “It’s just a bunch of numbers with no supporting documentation. We spent about $30 million dollars a year at Downstream for marketing. Arkansas is a very important market and we have been the only casino resort advertising with the Razorbacks.”
Meanwhile, the Quapaw government is in the midst of restructuring and has formed a committee to draft a new constitution. The DDA has been dissolved and business committee has taken over its responsibilities. Among considerations are term limits and a more effective grievance committee.
“My heart aches for the Quapaw people,” Byrd said. He has promised the Quapaw people his administration will operate with transparency, and asked for patience as the investigation continues.
