Former Coordinator of an Indian Tribal Organization Found Guilty of Embezzlement

FARGO—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced today that on October 20, 2011, Patricia Robertson, a/k/a Patricia Cavanaugh, of St. Michael, North Dakota, was found guilty by a 12-person jury of embezzlement from the Spirit Lake Tribe’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. United States District Court Judge Patrick A. Conmy presided over the three-day trial.

Robertson, 53, St. Michael, North Dakota, is the former coordinator for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) of the Spirt Lake Tribe. Robertson was found guilty of misapplying funds belonging to the LIHEAP on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. The jury found that while Robertson was the program coordinator of LIHEAP, she approved applications for heating assistance to her own household in the names of her children which did not include Robertson’s name or income into the household calculation for benefits. The offense occurred for the terms of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

The statutory maximum sentence for embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization is five years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing for Robertson has not been scheduled.

Assistant United States Attorneys Janice M. Morley and Brett M. Shasky prosecuted the case.