Following allegations of misuse of tribal funds, a group called the Winnebago Tribe for the People in Winnebago, Nebraska is gathering signatures on petitions seeking to have seven of eight tribal council members resign or risk a recall. Newly elected tribal council member Darla LaPointe is not included in the action.
The group alleges the council members approved hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bonuses, raises and casino gifts in recent years. Keely Bassette, a leader of the recall group, stated, “Late last year, we discovered the elected officials of our tribal council were making unauthorized payments to themselves on prepaid debit cards along with abusing their power by receiving bonuses and perks both from WinnaVegas Casino and from tribal funds. This is illegal activity. There are no agendas, minutes nor resolutions to document these activities. Our community was upset and hurt by these actions, and as a result, a group of tribal members developed in order to inform each other of our tribal council’s activities.”
A tribal investigative committee recently issued a 10-page report indicating misappropriation of funds. The committee found that the council and tribal employees received more than $300,000 in prepaid credit cards in 2014 and $193,000 in casino comps and gift certificates since 2012. The report also found that the council gave out more $80,000 than was budgeted for financial assistance since 2012. The committee was not able to determine how much money was distributed in the form of “Tribal Council Loans” given to members of the council treasurer’s family, as well as three people who were non-tribal members. Overall, the committee found at least 48 Tribal Council Loans worth more than $120,000 were currently delinquent, with no payments being made in the past three months.
Also at issue was the fact that in 2012, the nine council members together received salaries of over $635,000. By the end of 2014, the council’s salary had ballooned to almost $1 million dollars. In total, the council has received salaries of over $2.4 million dollars over the past three years, or about $266,000 per member over the three years.
In conclusion, the report said, “The committee recommends that forensic audits be conducted to review the financial records of the WinnaVegas Casino and the tribe, with the scope of the audits to be guided by the issues identified by the committee.”
Tribal Chairman John Blackhawk said, “Information from the report is being further reviewed to make sure the information is accurate. However, the tribal council commissioned this initial report so that going forward, policies and procedures are in place to ensure that all financial transactions are conducted properly and with oversight. This includes any necessary reforms to our systems and/or any required personnel changes.” He said he didn’t believe any council members had violated the law and added that he already had returned the $8,000 he received from a casino debit card. He said he didn’t realize the debit card had that much money on it.
The tribal council’s former treasurer, Darwin Snyder, resigned as vice chairman in December after he was accused of failing to properly authorize issuance of prepaid debit cards to council members. Two other council members, Thomas Snowball Sr. and Louis Houghton Jr., were suspended following the release of the investigative report.
“While we are deeply saddened this has happened to our community, we remain hopeful that those that are charged and found guilty of criminal wrongdoing will be brought to justice. Only then can we begin to heal and reunite as one,” Bassette said.
The report did not extend to the tribe’s economic development corporation, Ho-Chunk Inc., nor have any allegations been made against Ho-Chunk.
