Oglala Sioux Tribe Fraud Defendant Sentenced to 78 Months for Money Laundering

A South Dakota man has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for a long-running scheme that diverted more than US$4.7 million from the Oglala Sioux Tribe and included three money laundering convictions.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota said Patrick Ross, 56, was sentenced on August 24, 2026, after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay US$4,744,415.36 in restitution.

More than US$4.7 million diverted from tribal funds

According to the Department of Justice, Ross’s co-defendant worked for the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Tribal Employment Rights Office, or TERO, which collects fees from contractors doing business on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Those fees were supposed to be transferred to the tribe’s revenue department and deposited into the general fund, which supports services including emergency management, water and sewer services, burial and medical assistance, education support and emergency aid.

Between November 2017 and May 2024, prosecutors said Ross and his co-defendant diverted TERO fee checks totaling more than US$4.7 million and deposited them into a bank account Ross had opened for the scheme. The two then split the funds and used the money for personal benefit, including purchasing homes and vehicles.

Co-defendant Buffy Redfish was previously sentenced to 78 months in custody. Ross was immediately remanded to the U.S. Marshals Service following sentencing.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The case illustrates how misuse of an apparently legitimate institutional payment stream can become both a fraud and money laundering risk when diverted funds are routed through controlled bank accounts and converted into personal assets.