Ex-tribal lending leaders face new charges of fraud, bribery
HELENA, Mont. — Two former leaders of an online lending company have pleaded not guilty to new criminal charges of defrauding the Chippewa Cree tribe, accepting bribes and evading their taxes.
The grand jury indictment against Neal Rosette and Billi Anne Morsette was made public Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Rosette and Morsette used to run Plain Green LLC, the Chippewa Cree’s lucrative lending company. They also ran the tribe’s now-defunct lender, First American Capital Resources.
The indictment accuses Rosette and Morsette of conspiring to divert Plain Green revenue to a Nevada company that was a partner in First American.
Prosecutors say they then used shell companies to take some of that money for their personal benefit.
Rosette and Morsette have pleaded not guilty to a previous indictment accusing them of embezzling more than $55,000 from First American.
