Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Convictions of Two Former Cheyenne-Arapaho Elected Officials

OKLAHOMA CITY—Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the convictions of WILLIAM F. BLIND, JR. (a/k/a “Bill Blind”), 70, and his wife, VINITA H. SANKEY, 62, both from Canton, Oklahoma, who were convicted of multiple counts of conspiracy and embezzlement of funds belonging to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma (“Tribes”), including net gaming revenues derived from the Lucky Star Casinos, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Blind and Sankey were elected to the Tribe’s Business Committee as representatives for the Arapaho District One (A-1) in 1998 and served on the Business Committee until 2006. Blind and Sankey also had served as Tribal Tax Commissioners. Blind served for a period as Tribal Chairman and Sankey served for a period as Tribal Secretary.

The pair was originally indicted in November of 2008. On February 4, 2010, a jury found Sankey guilty of conspiracy and 19 counts of embezzlement while also finding Blind guilty of conspiracy and eight counts of embezzlement. At sentencing on June 30, 2010, Blind was ordered to serve 33 months in federal prison and pay restitution in the amount of $121,373.97 to the Tribes. Sankey was sentenced to serve 41 months in federal prison and pay restitution in the amount of $193,792.82 to the Tribes.

On appeal, both Blind and Sankey separately challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on the embezzlement counts and argued that the district court miscalculated the restitution amount. Yesterday, in separate opinions, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed both convictions of the jury finding that sufficient evidence existed to support the convictions. In addition, the appellate court reversed several items included in the restitution amount and remanded for resentencing as to the restitution amount due to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes. Reference is made to the appellate decisions attached below for further information.

These cases were the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Robinson and Arvo Mikkanen.