Former Director of Rosebud Tribal Ranch Sentenced for Embezzlement

Defendant Prosecuted as Part of The Guardians Project

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that a Rosebud woman was sentenced in federal court as a result of her conviction for Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization. Patricia Elaine Jones, 66, of Rosebud, SD, was sentenced on September 4, 2018, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno. Jones was sentenced to 24 months of federal probation. She was ordered to pay approximately $23,000 in restitution.

According to court documents filed in Jones’s case, between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2016, she willfully and knowingly embezzled, misapplied, and converted to her own use monies, funds, credits, goods, assets, and other property belonging to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Tribal Ranch, an Indian Tribal Organization.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.

The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.

For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (605)330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.