Ex-Rocky Boy’s Employee Sentenced For Theft

HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A former tribal employee who pleaded guilty to stealing from the Rocky Boy's Health Board has been sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay nearly $7,700 in restitution.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced former health board supply technician Garcia Duran on Tuesday. Duran pleaded guilty in December to theft from a health care facility.

Federal prosecutors dropped a second charge, embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization.

Prosecutors say Duran submitted personal purchases as clinic expenses to the tribal health board between September and November 2009.

The Havre Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1kOPyHW ) Duran's indictment stemmed from U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter's Guardians Project, which was started to investigate fraud and embezzlement on Montana reservations.

Other Guardians Project cases are pending at Rocky Boy's, including several accusing former state Rep. Tony Belcourt.

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