State audit questions Haliwa-Saponi Tribe grant request

Wednesday, April 27, 2011  

The Haliwa-Saponi Tribe made an inaccurate request for a state grant, according to the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor.

In January 2010, the state-recognized tribe submitted a request for $1 million from the Golden Leaf Foundation, which distributes the state's tobacco settlement funds. The foundation approved $316,140 for a community center.

But the audit found that the tribe and its members had voted to kill the project in early 2009. A tribal administrator, who was not identified by name in the report, signed the grant agreement in June 2010.

Golden Leaf, however, never actually disbursed any of the funds because the tribe "had not yet satisfied some of the special terms and conditions applicable to the grant," the audit stated.

The tribe said it has taken steps to address the problem.

Get the Story:
Audit: NC tribe made inaccurate grant request (AP 4/26)