Northern Arizona Man Charged with Embezzling $39,000 from Tribal Organization
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 22, 2009 |
PHOENIX—Harry Tso, Jr.,39, of Window Rock, Ariz., was arraigned in federal court yesterday on one count of Embezzlement from an Indian Tribal Organization. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in the indictment. Trial is scheduled for December 1, 2009, in Prescott, Ariz.
The indictment alleges that between October 13, 2004, and June 29, 2007, as an employee of the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company, Tso embezzled $39,223.91 from the Window Rock Chevron gasoline station and convenience store. The station and store are owned by the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company.
A conviction for Embezzlement from an Indian Tribal Organization carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both. An indictment is the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until a jury determines that a defendant’s guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Paul A. Bullis, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.