A former tribal president in South Dakota will spend 22 months in prison after embezzling over $80,000 and gambling much of it away at a casino. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
The former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota will spend 22 months in prison for embezzling funds. Julian Bear Runner was convicted of wire fraud, larceny, and theft from an Indian tribal organization.
The 39-year-old will be subject to supervised release for three years and will have to pay $82,484 in restitution to the tribe and $800 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
faced up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000
The case took a long time to come to a close, as a federal grand jury indicted him back in September 2022. Bear Runner was finally found guilty after a three-day trial in April 2024. He faced up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Bear Runner embezzled the money between January 2019 and January 2020 by claiming fraudulent travel expenses. He submitted requests for official business travel for out-of-state trips to New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Montana, and New Mexico that he never actually went on.
The former tribal president received over $80,000 in advance travel payments and used a casino to cash the checks, gambling with much of the money and using it to cover the costs of hotel rooms.
