A jury convicted Jeffrey Charles Zander, age 57, a former tribal planner, general counsel, and economic development and trust resources director for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, of mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and willful failure to file tax returns Tuesday afternoon following a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City….
Evidence presented at trial showed that beginning in 2005, Zander developed a scheme to divert more than $175,000 for his personal use that had been awarded to the Paiute Tribe through grant proposals the defendant had authored and assisted the tribe in applying for. The grants were awarded for Integrated Resource Management Plans (IRMP), which are long-term plans to balance the use of tribal resources between interests of residents of the reservation and revenue-generating uses of tribal lands. Zander told tribal leaders that he had hired companies in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Provo to act as consultants or facilitators to assist with the creation of the IRMPs. Zander told the tribe that since he would be traveling to work with the consultants or facilitators, he could hand-deliver progress payment checks to the companies.
Evidence at trial showed the companies were bogus—created by the defendant to facilitate the fraud. Zander created fictitious invoices from the companies, submit them for payment from the tribe, and then drove to different points between Provo, Utah and Mesquite, Nevada, to deposit the checks into his personal bank accounts. He also drafted quarterly reports for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to show that the money was being spent for facilitators and consultants when, in truth, he had converted grant funds for his own use.
The scheme came to light when a transaction raised a red flag with a bank teller and, at about the same time, tribal leaders started to uncover the defendant’s deceit and misrepresentations. Evidence showed that invoices from all four companies were found on his work computer. Zander was fired from his tribal position and the case was turned over to the FBI.
FBI press release link: click here