{KXLG – South Dakota} United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Mason Big Crow, a 50-year-old man from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Larceny and Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization.
Big Crow, who served as the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s treasurer, was indicted in September 2024. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollman on November 22, 2024, and pleaded not guilty. The charges allege that between January 2021 and March 2023, Big Crow embezzled tribal funds for personal purchases without authorization.
The maximum penalty upon conviction includes up to ten years in custody, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 fee to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The case is part of the Guardians Project, a federal initiative to address public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General, and the FBI are conducting the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuting.
Big Crow has been released pending trial, and a trial date has not been scheduled.
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