Openings & Closings | Regulation

Former Choctaw Nation official sentenced in casino fraud case

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Jason Merida, the former head of construction for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is seen on a 2009 hunting excursion that was financed by a company that defrauded the tribe. Photo from Pueblo of Acoma Big Game Trophy Hunts

A former Choctaw Nation official who oversaw casino construction contracts for the Oklahoma tribe was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Monday.

Jason Brett Merida, a tribal member who served as executive director of construction, was found guilty last November on six out of seven bribery, theft, money laundering and tax fraud charges. A federal jury heard that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts, trips and other items of value from companies that performed casino work.

Judge James H. Payne agreed with federal prosecutors who argued that Merida's position within the tribe qualified him as a "public official." As a result, he received the harshest sentence out of all the defendants in the case.

Seven other people have been punished after pleading guilty for their roles in the scheme. The longest punishment was five years and the second longest was four years.

Merida is due to turn himself over to federal authorities on July 13. He has previously indicated that he will take his case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Get the Story:
Former Choctaw official sentenced to federal prison (The Muskogee Phoenix 6/2)
Sentence handed out in Choctaw construction theft, fraud case (The Native American Times 6/2)
Ex-Choctaw Nation construction director gets 12 years in bribery, tax-fraud case (The Tulsa World 6/2)
Ex-Choctaw official sentenced (The Durant Democrat 6/2)