Sunchild's appeal on embezzlement sentence denied

A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Wednesday an appeal filed by a former chair of the Chippewa Cree tribal council saying he was sentenced too harshly for his role in corruption and embezzlement at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

Bruce Sunchild pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2014, at federal District Court in Great Falls to theft from an Indian tribal organization, accepting a bribe and income tax evasion. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris sentenced Sunchild March 10, 2015, to 24 months in federal prison.

Sunchild's charges stemmed from investigations by U.S. District Attorney Mike Cotter's Guardians Project, which he created to have investigators from various federal agencies collaborate in looking into fraud and corruption in Montana's Indian Country.

Sunchild's actions were one branch of a complex set of fraud, corruption and embezzlement involving numerous people on and off the reservation, including tribal officials and employees, residents of Rocky Boy and residents of Havre and Laurel. Many of those defendants have been convicted or pleaded guilty, and the investigation and indictments continue.

The latest indictment involves a businessman and business from Nevada accused of a kickback scheme involving the online lending business at Rocky Boy, Plain Green.

In his appeal, Sunchild argued that he was sentenced too severely because he was not linked to the amount of money - $200,000 - the government said the tribe lost; that it was too severe because of his minor role in the scheme, and that the sentence violated federal law by being "procedurally and subtantially unreasonable."

The panel ruled in the first argument that Morris actually applied more lenient guidelines than he could have, as per the plea agreement Sunchild made.

"Indeed, Sunchild's sentence of 34 months is well under the 10-year statutory maximum for bribery," the panel's disposition says.

Moreover, although Sunchild says his kickback - a vehicle valued at $24,977 - was not for the $200,000 loss listed but for previous embezzlements, the court ruled that Morris correctly cited kickbacks to Sunchild and former state Rep. Tony Belcourt, for $200,000 to Belcourt alone, in applying sentencing guidelines to arrive at 34 months.

Belcourt pleaded guilty in 2014 to charges in other cases and was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison. He also has appealed his sentence.

The panel also ruled that, while Sunchild's actions may have been relatively minor as in approving a fraudulent $300,000 transaction in return for his kickback, his position as vice chair and then chair of the tribal council, as well as a member of the insurance recovery team which controlled the insurance proceeds from which the $300,000 came, made his his role critical to the embezzlement.

Finally, the panel ruled that not only was Sunchild's sentence reasonable, but his 34-month sentence is significantly less than the advisory range of 63 months to 78 months for his case.

"The district court did not abuse its discretion," the panel wrote.