Two former Crow Creek Sioux Tribe council members and one former employee were sentenced in federal court this week (May 5) for their roles in an embezzlement scheme involving tribal funds.
51-year-old Roland Robert Hawk, Sr. is the former elected treasurer of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. He was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $325-thousand ($325,762.50) in restitution. Following his release from custody, Hawk will serve 3 years of supervised release. Hawk was remanded to the custody of the US Marshals Service.
Francine Maria Middletent, age 55, was a former elected tribal council member. She was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $273-thousand ($273,817.55) in restitution. Following her release from custody, Middletent will serve 3 years of supervised release. Middletent was released on bond and ordered to report to the federal prison designed by the Bureau of Prisons at a later date.
34-year-old Jacqueline Ernestine Pease was sentenced to 3 years of probation, and ordered to pay $74,100 in restitution. Pease worked in the Tribe’s Finance Office, where Hawk was the overall supervisor and where Middletent worked as Chief Financial Officer.
According to court documents, in about March 2014 through February 2019, Roland Robert Hawk, Sr., Francine Maria Middletent, Roxanne Lynette Sazue, Jacquelyn Ernestine Pease, Tina Grey Owl and Brandon Sazue embezzled approximately $1-million belonging to the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. Between Hawk and Middletent, the tribe sustained a loss of nearly $700,000.
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 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.
