The previous chief justice of the North Cheyenne Tribal Council in Montana was sentenced to 6 months in jail Thursday and ordered to repay practically $ 11,000 for her position in an unlawful ticketing scheme concentrating on business truck drivers caught on the prepare to speed up on the reservation.

Roni Rae Brady, 52, of Lame Deer, Mont., Pleaded responsible to 1 depend of wire fraud in Billings U.S. District Courtroom in December.

Prosecutors say that over a three-year interval, from 2014 to 2017, Brady helped arrange a regulation enforcement initiative to curb the velocity of economic truck drivers on US Route 212, which crosses the reservation. .

In keeping with court docket paperwork, truck drivers got the choice of paying for the usual $ 125 ticket or donating $ 250 to a particular court docket clerk fund that prosecutors declare to have established and managed by Brady.

If the truck drivers selected to donate – a deal that was not supplied to different speeders – tribal court docket officers informed the truckers their tickets can be rejected so it would not have an effect on their driving information, in accordance with the paperwork filed by the court docket.

Prosecutors say the Northern Cheyenne tribe has by no means reported any rushing convictions.

Throughout the three-year interval, the tribal court docket collected greater than $ 24,000 from the truck drivers which was deposited into the donation fund, which was not disclosed to the tribal finance workplace as required. tribal regulation, in accordance with court docket paperwork.

Federal prosecutors additionally argued that the fines collected weren’t authorized as a result of tribal regulation enforcement doesn’t have jurisdiction over anybody who just isn’t a Native American tribe member in legal issues on the reservation.

Courtroom paperwork allege Brady acquired a clean $ 250 Arvest Financial institution cash order from a business truck driver in Missouri, which she made to herself and cashed in Montana.

As chief justice, Brady used the cash raised from the business truck driver’s rushing operation “to profit her, court docket staff loyal to her and their households,” say prosecutors.

Brady should serve three years of supervised launch after his jail time period is over.

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