The indictment of the former executive director for the Catawba Nation of South Carolina started with an audit of the tribe's finances by the Department of Interior, The Charlotte Observer reports.

DOI's Inspector General began looking into the issue last year, a tribal attorney said. The probe apparently led to Wanda George Warren, 43, a tribal member accused of taking more than $10,000 from the tribe.

The indictment centers on Warren's trip to a United Nations conference on indigenous peoples that took place in Switzerland. She was representing the tribe on the tribe, a tribal attorney said.

Warren faces five years in jail plus a $250,000 fine if convicted.

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Indictment: Tribe money used for trips (The Charlotte Observer 10/8)
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Former Catawba Nation official indicted for theft (10/7)