SAN CARLOS — The San Carlos Apache Tribe has hired a forensic accounting firm to review the tribe’s Funeral Assistance Program.
The announcement of the review was made late Friday evening.
On his social media, Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler said, “There are two employment investigations the Tribal Council has authorized. One is on an employee of our Recreation and Wildlife Department, also referred to as Game and Fish. This independent investigation is ongoing. The other is on four employees within our Tribal Administration.”
All five employees, Rambler said, are on paid administrative leave. He did not detail what prompted the Recreation and Wildlife Department investigation.
It was alleged last week that $470,000 was missing from the Funeral Assistance Fund, which helps pay costs for tribal members who, otherwise, could not afford funeral services.
It is expected the accounts review will take “several weeks to complete,” and the Tribal Council said the final report will be made public to members of the Tribe.
As described by the Tribe, the Administration Office“ provides services for the Tribal Council such as processing travel, general assistance requests, budget revisions and payment for vendors,” in addition to funeral assistance which began in 2019, and faxing documents for members of the Tribe.
