Report: No Evidence of Money Theft on Wyoming Reservation

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Inspector General's office says it found no evidence of theft of federal funds on Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation.

However, the office noted in a report released last week that poorly maintained accounting records and long-time commingling of various federal program funds made it impossible to determine if any money had been stolen.

As a result, investigators were unable to determine the status or disposition of various federal and tribal funds.

The investigation was initiated after the Eastern Shoshone Business Council wrote a letter to Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, requesting a forensic audit of the Joint Finance Office the tribe shares with the Northern Arapaho Tribe.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs reached a similar conclusion in 2016 in regard to the mismanagement of money.