The Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in Maine fired its finance director after uncovering his criminal past.

The tribe hired Charles Fourcloud four months ago after hearing glowing reviews of his work. But he began to arouse suspicion by telling council members conflicting stories about his past.

Tribal police eventually discovered that Fourcloud, under his birth name Arlynn E. Knudsen, was convicted of stealing $2.66 million from the Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota. Authorities found out he has been changing his name on a regular basis, possibly to avoid detection as he moves around different positions in Indian Country.

“One thing I wish we had nationwide was some kind of alert system for people like this, because it seems like he may have had a pattern of going to little tribes and trying to gain their confidence,” council member Ed Bassett told The Portland Press Herald. “Then maybe we could stop this kind of thing from happening elsewhere.”

The tribe has launched an investigation to determine whether Fourcloud, who was arrested by tribal police for driving with a suspended license, committed any wrongdoing during his short tenure but Chief Clayton Cleaves said there doesn't appear to be anything amiss so far.

Get the Story:
Maine tribe fires finance director with embezzlement record (The Portland Press Herald 10/3)
Tribe’s finance director fired in identity cloud (The Quoddy Tides 9/28)