CFO for Tribal Construction Company Embezzled Funds and Falsified Financial Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that Georgie Russell, Chief Financial Officer for the Chippewa Cree Construction Company (C-4), embezzled funds from C-4 and Dry Forks Farm, a tribally owned business. We also investigated allegations that Russell submitted false quarterly financial reports to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) for the federally funded Rocky Boys/North Central Montana Regional Water System Project. Our investigation confirmed that Russel embezzled funds from C-4 and Dry Forks Farm by falsifying time sheets and authorizing fraudulent payments. We also found that Russell submitted false quarterly financial reports to USBR, in which she misrepresented C-4’s cash on hand for the water project by as much as $1.7 million. Russell pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana to theft and filing false statements. She was sentenced to 18 months in Federal prison and ordered to repay $61,230 in restitution.