Friday, February 5, 2010

Man Who Cheated Pechanga Tribe, INDICTED, Pechanga Tribe who Cheated Their Members, NOT Indicted

Does anyone wonder why it would take so long for an indictment from Riverside DA Rod Pacheco?
We understand there are still some indictments coming, this from the Federal side. Is this a sign of incompetence from those running Pechanga? Since the premiums were overcharged to Pechanga, does Pechanga owe any of that to the state? Wouldn't their "net win" now be higher?



A man who allegedly overcharged the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians $4 million in insurance premiums, and another who worked for the tribe, were charged with grand theft in indictments unsealed today.

James William Riley, a 46-year-old insurance broker, is also charged with commercial bribery and money laundering.

Ryan Jay Robinson, the 39-year-old former chief financial officer for the Pechanga Resort & Casino and the Tribal Government Center, is also charged with commercial bribery.
The men allegedly committed the crimes in 2006 and 2007, according to Ryan Hightower of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

The indictment states that after Hurricane Katrina, Riley overcharged the Pechanga Development Center by more than $4 million in insurance premiums, Hightower said.

Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro Statement:

We uncovered evidence of fraud and theft against the Pechanga Tribe and immediately launched a detailed internal investigation," Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro said in a written statement. "Our investigation found millions of dollars were stolen. It is our understanding that no patrons, employees or business partners were affected by the inappropriate activities of these individuals."

We say in the headline that Pechanga is not indicted. The amount of insurance lost to those they unconstitutionally disenrolled is THREE times this loss. More on that later....

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steal a little and you go to jail. Steal a lot and Pechanga makes you the Tribal Chairman, or puts you on the Tribal Council or Enrollment Committee. These guys just didn’t think big enough.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Ryan was dating Michelle Markstrom who is a current PDC official when this alleged crime took place.

Will she be implicated too? Or is this retribution for something Ryan did or did not do for her? Guess the honeymoon is over for the love birds…

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, the white man taking the fall for the corupt leaders at Pa-chinga!!! What a joke. Evil floats to the top & again is smellin like a rose. Fed's are afraid to mess with the Tribe, WHY? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Just thinkin. F... Pa-chingaaa$$$!!!

Anonymous said...

Pony's drinking again? I thought he was off the sauce?

'aamokat said...

Hey, but Pony and others on this thread ask some important questions, were there any tribal members involved in this particular theft?

And if so, did these Pechanga casino officials take the fall for them?

Anonymous said...

4 SURE!!

Anonymous said...

Lets hope the ex-CFO spills the beans on any funny stuff the Tribe is up to...he will probably sing like a canary to get some help.

Anonymous said...

wonder what MICHELLE MARKSTROM AKA Ryan Robinson's girlfriend knows. She is an officer on the Pechanga Development Corporation. How did Ryan change jobs without her family, and friend helping her and him out.

Anonymous said...

Did Pony get any $ from Pechanga?

Anonymous said...

Don't forget about James Fletcher, formerly of the Riverside BIA Office. The BIA is supposed to make sure the Indian people are treated fairly. Instead, Fletcher turned his head and ignored illegal disenrollments, and pocked a sizeable chunk of cash for himself and his family.

Additionally Fletcher diverted welfare funds in the Torres Martinez welfare program emergency funds to his cronies, ignoring the truly needy in favor of the truly greedy. After Fletcher’s incompetence and greed got him run off from his Government job, Pechanga hires him in a position of trust?

Anonymous said...

The innocent are Robinson and Riley. There may have been criminal activities going on without them knowing. I don't doubt that at all. There was nothing illegal that took place. A gift was implied as bribery. There is a difference between someone hiding from their gift giving and someone telling people they gave it. Riley is not hiding anything. Why would a guy, already hugely successful and making a lot of money by working his tail off and being one of the most trustworthy broker's, decide to one day, without a hiccup in his record, pay a friend off? He was alreaday making good money apart from Pechanga. He's been invovled in helping people in Haiti(before earthquake), the community, and people in dire straits. It doesn't add up. Pechanga is trying to smear these guys and pin-em to the wall. It's the DA's office that is doing what Pechanga wants. I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but I believe these 12+ casinos have there hands a little too far in the justice system in Riverside County.(which brings up another point) How can Pechanga prosecute through our court systems when they are "sovereign"? It's simply UNFAIR!!

And by the way Orignal Pechanga is doing the right thing. I never knew what was going on behind closed doors with all the disenrollments that are going on and stripping their people from benefits. I'm truly sorry to hear that.

Listen to this. I think Pechanga is the one "hiding" things. Copy and paste this in your addtress bar or type it in.

http://www.kfi640.com/mediaplayer/?station=KFI-AM&action=ondemand&item=17153118&feed_name=JohnandKen

smokeybear said...

Come to think of it, has anyone checked Mark Macurro's Indian lineage to being Pechanga? I can't believe that the tribal council hasn't stopped Mark Macurro and his illegal dealings before down the line it's going to bite them in the a--, and it will! Greed is a terrible thing considering all the terrible things that have been perpitated against us when the "WHITE MAN" came, now by are own brothers, or are they?