Navajo beneficiaries owed more than $2M

Thursday, August 23, 2007  

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians is trying to find more than 4,000 Navajo beneficiaries who are owed more than $2 million.

The Navajos are on a list of "whereabouts unknown" accounts. That means OST doesn't have enough information to send the beneficiaries their money.

“Some of these are very old accounts,” Virginia Moore, a fiduciary trust specialist, told The Gallup Independent. “Some of them just have the Navajo names.”

Nationwide, OST can't find the rightful owners of more than $70 million in trust funds, according to a recent report the Interior Department filed in court.

Get the Story:
Government wants to give Natives their money back (The Gallup Independent 8/22)

Quarterly Reports:
30th | 29th

Historical Accounting :
2007 Historical Accounting Plan (May 2007) | Report to Congress (May 2007)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne - http://www.indiantrust.com
Office of Special Trustee - http://www.doi.gov/ost
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm

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