"Close to 6,000 American Indians in Idaho will get a check this week for $1,000. It’s part of a landmark settlement with the federal government over the mismanagement of American Indian land.

Just in time for the holidays, about 300,000 American Indians nationally will receive checks from the $3.4 billion settlement. The settlement is the result of a lawsuit started by Montana Blackfeet woman Elouise Cobell in 1996. Cobell died of cancer during the appeals process in 2011.

An advocacy group is concerned that some people receiving the checks may be targeted by financial predators.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is going on the offensive to educate people on scams that could be coming their way."

Get the Story:
Idaho Natives Warned Of Financial Scams As Settlement Checks Are Disbursed (Boise State Public Radio 12/17)

Relevant Documents:
Cobell v. Salazar (December 11, 2012)

Related Stories:
Delvin Cree: Cobell brings millions to Turtle Mountain members (12/14)
MTPR: Indian beneficiaries wait for share of Cobell settlement (12/13)
Judge orders first round of payments from Cobell settlement (12/12)
Dina Gilio-Whitaker: Winners and losers in Cobell settlement (12/11)
Upwards of 15K from Turtle Mountain Band to share in Cobell (12/10)
Cobell trust settlement expected to bring $23M to Wyoming (12/10)
Dennis Gingold withdraws as counsel in Cobell trust fund case (12/7)
South Dakota could see $115M in first round of Cobell payout (12/3)
Editorial: Elouise Cobell worked tirelessly for trust settlement (12/3)
Editorial: Priceless lessons learned from Cobell trust fund case (12/3)
Opinion: Cobell trust fund settlement payout 'insultingly small' (12/3)
NPR: South Dakota beneficiaries await share of Cobell payout (11/30)
Jay Daniels: Christmas and Cobell - what about the day after? (11/29)
Upwards of 50K in Oklahoma share in $3.4B Cobell settlement (11/29)
Tribal members in Wyoming could see $8M from Cobell payout (11/29)
Cobell settlement comes too late for beneficiaries who passed (11/29)
Checks for $3.4B Cobell settlement expected in mid-December (11/28)
About 350K to share in first round of Cobell settlement payout (11/27)
Obama announces final approval for Cobell settlement payout (11/26)
About 30K in Arizona expected to benefit from Cobell payouts (11/14)
Geoffrey Rempel: The truth behind the withdrawn Cobell appeal (11/12)
Ask Elouise: Appeals of $3.4B Cobell trust settlement dismissed (11/8)
Cobell settlement cleared after Supreme Court dismisses appeal (11/8)
Mary Aurelia Johns explains reasons for dropping Cobell appeal (11/08)