Former Executive Director of Indian Human Resource Center Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Non-Profit’s Money

SAN DIEGO, CA—United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that David Hedley, a former executive director of the Indian Human Resource Center (IHRC), admitted embezzling over $140,000 from the San Diego-based non-profit.

According to his plea agreement, Hedley served as IHRC’s executive director between September 10 and December 11, 2012. Taking advantage of his position as a signer on IHRC’s credit union account, he obtained a debit card allowing him virtually unrestricted access to the funds in one of the credit union accounts. Once he obtained this access, Hedley stole approximately $141,260 in federal funds from IHRC.

According to the plea agreement, at the same time Hedley was stealing funds from IHRC’s credit union account, he was spending comparable sums gambling at a local Indian casino. For example, on October 9, 2012, Hedley withdrew $15,000 in cash from the IHRC credit union account at the North Island Credit Union (NICU) located in La Mesa, California. On that same day, Hedley gambled $15,000 at Viejas Casino. Similarly, on October 12, 2012, Hedley improperly withdrew $20,000 in cash from IHRC’s credit union account at the NICU branch in Imperial Beach, California and gambled with that sum at Pala Casino. Hedley also admitted to using over $800 in embezzled funds to buy Southwest Airlines tickets to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he spent thousands of dollars in stolen funds at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

The IHRC was established to train and assist Native Americans with finding employment outside the tribal setting and was awarded over a half-million dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor over the past two years as part of the Workforce Investment Act. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 established a national workforce preparation and employment system to meet the needs of persons seeking employment, including new entrants to the workforce, in order to increase the employment, job retention, earnings, and occupational skills of participants; improve the quality of the workforce; reduce welfare dependency; and improve the productivity and competitiveness of the United States.

As a result of his guilty plea, Hedley is facing up to 10 years in prison, and has agreed to pay mandatory restitution of $141,260.44, and to forfeit any property derived from or traceable to the proceeds he obtained from the offense.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 21 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes.

Criminal Case No. 13CR1129-WQH

DEFENDANT: David M. Hedley

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Counts 1-8: Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A) – Theft from Program Receiving

Federal Funds

Forfeiture: Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code,

Section 2461(c)

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control