2 ex-Omaha Tribe officials get probation for paying themselves bonuses with federal funds

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

Two of nine current and former Omaha Tribal officials who admitted to using federal funds to give themselves bonuses have been sentenced to probation and ordered to repay the money.

Rodney Morris, 64, and Barbara Freemont, 65, were sentenced Friday in Omaha’s U.S. District Court to five years’ probation. Morris, a former tribal councilman, was ordered to pay $13,404 in restitution, and Freemont, a former employee, was ordered to pay $89,000.

Both had previously pleaded guilty to one count of misapplication of health care benefit program funds.

They are among nine charged in a case that accused officials of misusing federal funds by awarding nearly $389,000 in bonuses to themselves. Officials say the bonuses were paid from Indian Health Service funds meant to provide health care to members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska.

Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/courts/ex-omaha-tribe-officials-get-probation-for-paying-themselves-bonuses/article_f44d21f8-500d-51af-a643-b1531e657326.html?utm_source=latest

[Fred Sanders]

1. If they were corporations they could have done a confidential settlement and avoided all this

unseemly public exposure and criminal records...and 13K and 85K is from multi-national and bank corporate petty cash...am I right?

My legal advice is to immediately incorporate before charges laid and settle with the prosecution for a fine and a dark money contribution to the reelection campaign of the DA.

[erronis]

2. Hi, Fred. I have some legal/financial problems also. Could you advise me, please?

djt