Sheriff's deputy denies involvement in $18.6M Auburn scam

Friday, March 23, 2012  

A sheriff's deputy in Sacramento County, California, said he wasn't involved in a scheme to steal $18.6 million from the United Auburn Indian Community.

Kevin Mickelson, who also serves as president of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, owns a construction company that oversaw work on a home owned by developer Bart Volen. The Internal Revenue Service says Volen is one of three people who overbilled the tribe for millions of dollars in construction and other work.

"I would have run away from [Volen] in a heartbeat if he had suggested that," Mickelson told The Sacramento Bee in response to allegations made by the IRS in federal court.

No charges have been filed against anyone but the IRS want to seize properties owned by Volen, former tribal administrator Gregory Baker and Darrell Hinz, a former tribal consultant.

Get the Story:
IRS probe mentions Sacramento County deputies' president (The Sacramento Bee 3/23)
Details emerge in IRS lawsuit alleging fraud, kickback scheme that targeted Thunder Valley owners (The Auburn Journal 3/23)

IRS accuses trio of bilking Auburn Community out of millions (3/22)