Former President of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Stole Funds by Forging False Travel Receipts

We investigated allegations that Lawrence Killsback, while serving as President of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe (NCT), submitted fraudulent travel claims. The funds used to pay the fraudulent claims came from federally funded NCT programs. Our investigation focused on Killsback’s regional travel in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a parallel investigation that focused on Killsback’s remaining domestic trips.Together, the parallel investigations found that Killsback stole over $20,000 from NCT programs by submitting multiple fraudulent travel vouchers between August 18, 2014, and August 25, 2017.This investigation was prosecuted jointly with the HHS OIG investigation. Killsback pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana to one count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and one count of false claims conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286. On December 12, 2019, Killsback was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Killsback was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and $25,092 in restitution.