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2 ex-members of Omaha Tribe sentenced in federal court

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September 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two former members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska’s governing council have been sentenced to probation for misusing federal money. The Sioux City Journal reports that 48-year-old Tillie Aldrich and 47-year-old Jessica Webster were each sentenced Friday in Omaha’s federal court to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution. Both pleaded guilty in July. Webster must repay $89,000 and Aldrich must repay $13,404.

The two are part of a group of nine former and current council members charged with giving themselves bonuses out of $388,972 in federal money. Officials say the bonuses were paid from Indian Health Service funds meant to provide health care to members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, who reside on the Omaha Reservation in Macy in northeastern Nebraska and in western Iowa.