Former
Tribal Employee Embezzled and Stole More Than $270,000 in Tribal Funds
PHOENIX—Holley Faye Youvella, 34, of San
Carlos, Arizona, pleaded guilty today to embezzlement of tribal funds in
federal district court in Phoenix.
In the course of Youvella’s guilty plea,
she admitted that between October 2008 and March 2010, while serving as a
bookkeeper for Peridot Shopping Center Inc., she embezzled approximately
$268,106 of the shopping center’s money. Youvella cashed approximately 237
fraudulent checks drawn from the shopping center’s checking account. The checks
were made out to Youvella or to a member of her family. Peridot Shopping Center
Inc. is a San Carlos Apache Tribal Organization.
Youvella also admitted that between June
2010 and August 2010, she stole approximately $4,301 by directing multiple
fraudulent electronic payments from the shopping center’s checking account to
personal credit and utility accounts containing balances owed by Youvella and a
family member.
A conviction for embezzlement of tribal
funds carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or
both. In determining an actual sentence, U.S. District Judge Frederick J.
Martone will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate
sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in
determining a sentence.
Youvella is scheduled to be sentenced by
Judge Martone on October 15, 2012, at 3:30 p.m.
The investigation preceding the
indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, and the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police Department. The
prosecution is being handled by Frederick A. Battista, Assistant U.S. Attorney,
District of Arizona, Phoenix.
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