Here are selected materials in United States v. Sheffler (W.D. Mo.):
Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Civil Mortgage Fraud Suit against (Former?) Tribal Business Partners
Here is the complaint in United States v. Rainy Day Holdings LLC (E.D. N.Y.):
An excerpt:
129. HAUVER previously worked on funneling down payment assistance to borrowers through the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. In June 2009. HAUVER began reaching out to Indian tribes, and also e-mailed an American Indian financial consultant for assistance in selling up a deal with an Indian tribe. After failing to strike deals With Indian tribes in Mississippi and the Dakotas. DMS and its principals, including LUDLOW, HAUVEK and NAILLON, began a business relationship with the Ely Shoshone tribe of Ely, Nevada.
130. DMS’ mission statement stated that “(financial assistance is provided through the Ely Shoshone Tribe’s Housing Authority.”
131. DMS was RDF’s successor both in activities and employees. LUDLOW wrote a mortgage lender client that while he still did work on behalf of RDF, despite the fact that “when I began working with the tribe, our attorney told me to separate myself from Rainy Day,” LUDLOW farther wrote that NAILLON, who also worked at the ostensibly separate DMS, “works for Rainy Day as well.”
132. Oilier RAINY DAY employees also took positions at DMS. as well as at the Ely Shoshone Housing Authority, which they renamed the “Ely Shoshone Finance Authority.” RDF employees began using new e-mail addresses at DMS, In addition, some RDF employees, such as HAUVER, also began using Ely Shoshone Finance Authority e-mail addresses.
133. The Ely Shoshone Finance Authority also began to use an office address used previously or concurrently by RDF, DMS and “Positive Alternatives.” yet another company owned by LUDLOW.
134. SCHWEDLAND, his company Dynaconnex, and his employees further assisted in the transformation of RAINY DAY into DMS. From mid-2009 forward. SCHWEDLAND assisted in presenting DMS to correspondent mortgage lenders. Beginning in the early summer of 2009, SCHWEDLAND began a concerted effort to market DMS’s services to new Direct Endorsement lenders. In June 2009, SCHWEDLAND helped brainstorm names for the “new” services to be provided by DMS – in reality, the same services that had been provided by RDF. On June 12, 2009. SCHWEDLAND circulated three versions of an “Ely Shoshone Tribe Seal” (subsequently used on DMS marketing materials) to CLUTE, LUDLOW, DEL SONTRO, HAUVER and others. Later that summer, SCHWEDLAND worked on the Ely Shoshone Housing Authority’s public website.
135. LUDLOW. NAILLON, HAUVER, DMS and RDF continued funneling money from Eastern District or New York-based mortgage lenders Lend America. FRANKLIN FIRST. Mortgage Source and Somerset to the current Secondary Purchasers by the Ely Shoshone Finance Authority.
136. The RAINY DAY DEFENDANTS continued their fraud by contracting through DMS to “administer” a “grants” program for the Ely Shoshone Housing Finance Authority.
137. In a description of the RDF/DMS enterprise, CLUTE wrote that the Financial Payment Assistance” provided by DMS consisted of “[t]ransferring money from Lender to Buyer (by Indian Finance Authority).”
138. Direct Endorsement lenders, including FRANKLIN’ FIRST. Lend America, Somerset. Mortgage Source and Intercontinental Capital Group wire transferred funds to a DMS bank account, DMS then transferred the funds to an Ely Shoshone Mousing or Finance Authority account at the same hank. Ely Shoshone Finance Authority employees then called servicing mortgage holders, and used the funds to pay mortgages by “check by phone” transactions, as directed by LUDLOW and others at DMS. The Ely Shoshone tribe received a per transaction fee for each such phone call.
139. None of the defaulting mortgages concealed by DMS were for mortgages owed by members of the Ely Shoshone tribe.Moreover, none of these mortgages were on property situated on any Indian tribe’s land, the real estate was located on decidedly non-tribal lands, such as Brooklyn. New York.
140. By late June 2009, SCHWEDLAND and LUDLOW were tracking the loans on which the Ely Shoshone Housing Authority tunneled the Direct Endorsement lenders’ money. By late July 2009, SCHWEDLAND was assisting LUDLOW and where in getting information TO potential DMS clients on how the scheme worked. At the same time. HAUVER was selling up the electronic database to track information on the loans for which DMS and the Ely Shoshone tribe were founding the Direct Endorsemeni lenders” payments.
141. In August 2009, LUDLOW e-mailed a mortgage lender about “a service we began shortly after Rainy Day Foundation severed its relationship” with several of RDF’s clients. LUDLOW wrote that DMS was “spun off” from the services that RDF had used 10 reduce default ratios and eliminate Early and First Payment Defaults.”’
142. In mid-to-late August 2009. NAILLON e-mailed a number of Direct Endorsement lenders to describe DMS’ services. For example, on August 12, 2009, NAILLON, in an-email sent to multiple potential clients, wrote that DMS “‘was created to assist lenders in eliminating first and early payment default penalties” providing financial assistance to borrowers that will miss their payments. “[I]f they will cause an EPD penalty or FPD (first payment default) penalty, DMS will arrange for them to receive financial assistance. Financial assistance is provided through the Ely Shoshone Tribe’s Housing Authority. The reason it is provided by a housing authority is because as a governmental entity, the assistance they provide is a non-tax event for the borrower.” NAILLON added that the “goal of the program is to be a ‘quick fix” to a high default ratio which will enable a company to maintain its ability to originate in all its branches…”
143. NAILLON’s e-mail neatly lays out the two sets of frauds RDF/DMS and their clients perpetrated; the first against HUD, which had its ability to track mortgage defaults destroyed by RDF and DMS’s illicit suppression of comparative default ratios, and the second against the Secondary Purchasers, who had Early Payment Defaults and “First Payment Defaults” (defaults on the first mortgage payment due after the mortgage was sold to a Secondary Purchaser) concealed from them.
Ho-Chunk Nation Judiciary Seeking Staff Attorney
Ho-Chunk Nation
Staff Attorney-Law Clerk
Judiciary Branch
Black River Falls, WI 54615
Summary: Assist Tribal Court Judges and Supreme Court Justices with legal research and the drafting of opinions in a timely manner while facilitating public access to the Court through the provision of procedural legal information.
Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited law school and in good standing of a State Bar. Strong research and writing skills. Strong word processing and computer research skills. Demonstrated interest in and familiarity with Tribal and Federal Indian Law. Fluency in Ho-Chunk Language desired but not required. Preference to members of the Ho-Chunk Nation, then other Native Americans. Must be able to pass a comprehensive background check. No felony convictions, no current open criminal cases or civil matters that would reflect negatively on the Judiciary Branch. Valid driver’s license, dependable transportation and proper insurance, is required. This is an appointed position.
Working Conditions: Office setting, courtroom. Occasional travel may be required.
We offer 401(K), Competitive Health, Dental, Vision, and Life benefits.
APPLICATION/ RESUME & TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED
Please submit to:
Ho-Chunk Nation
Department of Personnel
P.O. Box 667 Black River Falls, WI 54615
(800) 232-0086 FAX: (715) 284-9465
Application Deadline:
October 16, 2015 at 4:00pm
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Sues Interior over Bureau of Indian Education Reorganization
Here is the complaint in Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. Jewell (D. S.D.):
An excerpt:
Plaintiff, an Indian Tribe operating under grants from or contracts with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Public Laws 93-638 and 100-297, as amended), and upon whose reservation the Defendant directly operates a BIE-run school, seeks a permanent injunction pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 65, a Writ of Mandamus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1361 and 1362, and Declaratory Relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., and an Order to enforce compliance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Final Judgment entered by this Court in Yankton Sioux Tribe, et al. v. Kempthorne, et al, #4:06-cv-04091-KES (DSD) to enjoin Defendants from proceeding with their announced plan to restructure the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (hereinafter “BIE”), and its subsidiary offices and staff in a manner that will reduce and/or eliminate its legal obligations to Indian Tribes, Tribal Schools, and ultimately to the individual Tribal member students of those schools, including the Plaintiff, under the United States Constitution, treaties with the various Indian tribes, federal statutes, regulations, or policies, in a manner that is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion given to the Executive Branch to carry out the United States Congress’ legislative mandates, and/or violation of federal law or regulation.
United States v. Bryant Cert Petition — Federal Habitual Offender Statute and Uncounseled Tribal Court Convictions
Here is the petition:
Question presented:
Section 117(a) of Title 18, United States Code, makes it a federal crime for any person to “commit[] a domestic assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or Indian country” if the person “has a final conviction on at least 2 separate prior occasions in Federal, State, or Indian tribal court proceedings for” enumerated domestic-violence offenses. 18 U.S.C. 117(a).
California Court of Appeals Decides Gaming Compact Dispute
Here is the unpublished opinion and assorted materials in San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians v. State (Cal. App.):
Rebecca Webster on Service Agreement Payment Formulas for Tribal Trust Lands on the Oneida Reservation
Rebecca M. Webster has published “Service Agreements: Exploring Payment Formulas for Tribal Trust Lands on the Oneida Reservation” in the American Indian Quarterly.
Here is the abstract:
Many tribal governments throughout the US struggle with developing and maintaining positive relationships with other governments that have overlapping boundaries. Sometimes a tribe and other governments are able to strike an accord and realize a wide array of ways their respective governments can complement each other in order to provide the best services to their shared communities. Other times tribal and local governments find themselves tied up in litigation and negative public relations campaigns due to their inability to find a way to peacefully coexist. The Oneida Reservation has a unique history leading to checkerboard landownership patterns and the presence of tribal and local governments providing varying levels of government services. With respect to tribal trust land, the Oneida Tribe and local governments have been working together for the past two decades to find equitable ways to recognize each other’s government services through service agreements.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court Seeking Associate Judge
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe requests applications for the position of ASSOCIATE CHIEF JUDGE of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court. (PDF)
The Associate Chief Judge shall carry out the duties and obligations of the office in accordance with the provisions of the Tribal Constitution and the Standing Rock Tribal Code of Justice. Section 1-305 of the Code of Justice, available online at standingrock.org, outlines the duties of the Judges of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court.
The terms of employment, as well as the compensation for this position, will be set forth in the negotiated agreement between the Associate Chief Judge and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council. The Associate Chief Judge will be compensated on an hourly basis.
In order to serve as the Associate Chief Judge, candidates will need to meet the statutory requirements outlined in Section 1-301 of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Code of Justice, which provide the Associate Chief Judge must: (1) be at least 25 years of age; (2) of high moral character and integrity; (3) never have been convicted of a criminal offense, or a traffic offense, for which punishment of imprisonment was imposed; (4) not have been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Services; (5) be physically able to carry out the duties of the office and (6) possess a Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school and be a member in good standing of the bar of any State or Federal court.
Applicants must submit a resume, three writing samples, and three references. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon Tribal, State, and Federal Criminal Background Checks.
Applications and inquiries regarding the Associate Chief Judge position may be directed or submitted to Ms. Dellis M. Agard, Court Administrator, Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court, via regular mail at PO Box 363, Fort Yates, North Dakota , 58538, or via e-mail at dagard@
standingrock.org. Ms. Agard may be contacted, by telephone, at 701-854-7244.
The worksite for this position is located at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court in Fort Yates, ND. The Sitting Bull College Transit provides transportation services, at a nominal cost, to and from Bismarck, ND, Mobridge, SD, McLaughlin, SD and Selfridge, ND, in coordination with the Tribal Work Day, which is from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Central Time).
SCOTUS Order from Long Conference
Here.
The Supreme Court denied cert in Oklahoma v. Hobia, Wisconsin v. Ho-Chunk, Sac and Fox Nation v. Borough of Jim Thorpe, and Torres v. Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The Court took no action on the Jensen v. EXC petition, perhaps because the Dollar General v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians matter is pending and involves similar issues (tribal court jurisdiction over nonmembers).
Two New Indian Law Articles in the Federal Lawyer
Here:
Tribes, Same-Sex Marriage, and Obergefell v. Hodges: Tweedy on Same Sex Marriage
Implementing VAWA 2013: Leonhard on Implementing VAWA
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