Former Blackfeet Tribal operations manager admits stealing tribal COVID-19 relief funding

GREAT FALLS — The former operations manager for the Blackfeet Tribe today admitted to stealing more than $78,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funding the tribe received by fraudulently submitting requests for repayments to the tribe after falsely claiming to buy COVID-19 supplies, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

James Cameron McNeely, 43, pleaded guilty to theft from an Indian tribal government receiving federal funding. McNeely faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for June 6. McNeely’s release was continued pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that from about October 2021 until October 2022, McNeely, while employed as the Blackfeet Tribe’s operations manager, submitted requests for repayment to the tribe, and received such payments, after falsely claiming to purchase COVID-19 supplies on behalf of the tribe from Amazon. In reality, McNeely never purchased the supplies, and he was not entitled to the money he claimed and received, which totaled approximately $78,415. The tribe reimbursed McNeely with checks issued from the bank account containing American Rescue Plan Act funds, which were allocated to the tribe following a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.

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