NORTH DAKOTA
A former Tribal government official of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation) pleaded guilty Tuesday to a bribery scheme, officials stated.
He admitted to soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from a contractor providing construction services on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which is the home of the MHA Nation.
According to court documents, Randall Jude Phelan, 58, of Mandaree, North Dakota, was an elected representative on the Tribal Business Council, the governing body of the MHA Nation, from around November 2012 through the middle of 2020.
Beginning around 2013 and continuing through 2020, Phelan solicited and accepted bribes and kickbacks from a contractor operating on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
In exchange for the payments, Phelan used his official position to help the contractor’s business, including awarding contracts, fabricating bids during purportedly competitive bidding processes, advocating for the contractor with other Tribal officials, and facilitating the submission and payment of fraudulent invoices.
Phelan plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22.
The FBI Minneapolis Field Office investigated the case.