BIE Teachers’ Federal Salaries Illegally Supplemented

OIG investigated allegations that Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) native language teachers accepted payments from a tribe, which illegally supplemented their Federal salaries. We substantiated the allegations. We identified BIE native language teachers who received two or three supplemental payments each, ranging from $1,490.48 to $5,544.43 per payment during the 2014 and 2015 school years. Several teachers admitted that prior to the first payment they were aware that accepting the money violated ethics rules and Federal law. Several also admitted they had been admonished by their supervisors and informed the payments violated Federal law. We also determined that at least one teacher solicited for payments at district and Tribal council meetings. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota declined prosecution. One of the teachers left the school shortly after we interviewed her, one teacher is now deceased, and the remaining teachers are still employed at the school.