Navajo Nation loses $1.25M for failed egg farm on reservation

Thursday, March 17, 2011  

The Navajo Nation lost $1.25 million on a failed egg farm, money the tribe probably won't ever get back.

Diné Poultry Products Inc. proposed a $12 million egg farm on the New Mexico portion of the reservation. The company secured a $3 million loan from the Native American Bank, using tribal funds as collateral.

The business folded without ever producing a single egg and defaulted on the loan. The Native American Bank called in the loan and the tribe had to give up $1.25 million.

"This was the Navajo people's money," Nageezi Chapter President Ervin Chavez told The Farmington Daily Times. "It makes you wonder if the tribe is going to get some of this money back."

The Navajo Office of the Auditor General found that Diné Poultry Products Inc spent $1.25 million it had received under the loan the Native American Bank. The company's expenses were "questionable," an audi stated.

"We noted that about 50% was expended for professional services by consultants including a key consultant that was paid $565,000," an executive summary of the report stated. "The DPPI board also paid itself over $341,000 as reimbursements, wages and stipends."

Get the Story:
Rotten eggs: Auditors say farm swindled Navajo Nation (The Farmington Daily Times 3/17)

Relevant Documents:
Summary: Dine Poultry Inc Special Review (March 2011)