Roger Dana Barnett. Photo from Muscogee Nation
Roger Dana Barnett, the former second chief of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, will be sentenced May 5 for stealing tribal funds and using them to gamble. After being indicted last August, Barnett filed a petition to plead guilty in October. He admitted that he took a tribal credit card to casinos in the area and withdrew money in order to gamble. But when it came time to meet with a probation officer to prepare for sentencing, Barnett “basically skipped town for three months," Judge Gregory Frizzell said at a hearing yesterday, The Tulsa World reported. The former leader, however, did appear in court, the paper noted. Due to the late submission of information in the case, Frizzell rescheduled the sentencing to May 5. By that time, prosecutors and the defense should be able to resolve a dispute over the amount of money Barnett stole between April 2013 and April 2014. The tribe claims it lost $211,000 although the U.S. Attorney's Office put the amount at $150,000. Barnett has hired a independent expert to review the figures, the World reported. The money Barnett stole came from a direct assistance fund, the paper said. The fund has since been closed and the tribe's comptroller at the time resigned. “Good idea,” Frizzel said in court, the paper reported. Get the Story:
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