James Riley, Ryan Robinson Begin Serving Sentences for $4 million Theft From Pechanga; No Charges Yet for Pechanga Stealing $400 MILLION

A former insurance broker and a onetime official of the Pechanga Resort & Casino near Temecula, who were accused of bilking the tribe out of millions, surrendered Wednesday, July 17, to begin serving their sentences for commercial bribery convictions.

James William Riley, 49, of Murrieta, and Ryan Jay Robinson, 42, of Temecula, the casino’s former chief financial officer, were convicted April 29 after their second trial. They were sentenced earlier this month to two years, 8 months in prison.

The men had been accused of bilking Pechanga of more than $4 million in an insurance overcharging scam from 2006 to 2007 and were indicted by a grand jury in 2010. 

The Pechanga.Tribe has stolen over $400 million in per capita and benefits from over 25% of their tribal members since the 2004 and 2006 disenrollments.

Pechanga Corruption: Grand Theft Charges for James Riley/Ryan Robinson Dismissed. Judge Says Sister of Demcratic Party Operative Controlled What Was Going On

Judge said now-disenfranchised former chairwoman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Jennie Miranda, controlled what was happening.  Was this also a reason why she and her son were sanctioned by the tribe?   The elderly Miranda is sister to Chairman of the Native American Caucus of the Democratic Party head Andrew Masiel Sr..

Sichel told Roy she was surprised that the tribe’s board members did not testify during the trial that they had relied on Robinson’s recommendations to them regarding the insurance contracts.
“The answer to that question is that the tribe’s board members would have testified that there were never any meetings, there were never any discussions, and that, as the defense pointed out, Ms. Miranda essentially controlled what had happened,” Roy said, referring to then-Pechanga chairwoman Jennie Miranda.


Sichel said she believed the bribery charges were “more disconnected” from the theft charges than the defense had argued, saying there was evidence of a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours … don’t make waves” relationship between Riley and Robinson.

OP:  It looks like the Masiel-Basquez Crime Family had their fingers all over the place.. Justice Department?  BIA?   Anyone.....anyone??

Read more at the Press Enterprise

Who is Ryan Robinson and Why Did Pechanga Put Him in Charge of Tribal Funds?

Ryan Robinson went from being the Casino's Chief Financial Officer to the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians CFO.

Now, remember this from March 2005:

A financial officer for the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula was arrested Wednesday for allegedly embezzling nearly a half-million dollars, Riverside County authorities said.

Paul Del Vacchio, 39, of Murrieta was financial controller for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians' casino, and allegedly funneled $489,000 into his personal bank account over the last two years, a sheriff's spokesman said.


Ryan Robinson, the casino's chief financial officer and Del Vacchio's boss, was placed on administrative leave and investigated for nearly two months.

Someone who had this cloud, was then placed in charge of the Pechanga finances? WHY

Who in the tribe stood to gain from a guy who managed a person who skimmed from the tribe and then later, has a relationship with a PDC officer, and then allegedly skimmed or got kickbacks from an insurance fraud scheme?

What money is still owed to the state in income taxes by this illegal venture and did anyone else benefit from the money Riley and Robinson took?