Cobell Lawsuit & Settlement

Navajo beneficiaries expected to receive $49.5M Cobell payout





Members of the Navajo Nation will see another $49.5 million from the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement, The Farmington Daily-Times reports.

Some 34,786 Navajo beneficiaries are part of the Trust Administration Class, the paper said. Each will receive a minimum of $800 but many will receive more, based on the level of activity in their Individual Indian Money (IIM) account.

Some 6,000 Navajo beneficiaries are entitled to a share but their whereabouts remain unknown. People are urged to contact attorney David Smith in Washington, D.C.

"We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to a payment receives it," Smith told the paper.

The Trust Administration Class payment will go out in early 2014. The Interior Department is still verifying everyone who is eligible, according to a notice on IndianTrust.Com.

The first payment of $1,000, for the Historical Accounting Class, went out in December 2012. Some 23,994 Navajo beneficiaries received a check, for a total of nearly $24 million.

Both payments will bring around $73.5 million to Navajo beneficiaries.

Get the Story:
Checks for Cobell Settlement expected in early 2014 (The Farmington Daily-Times 12/4)

Related Stories:
Delay in Cobell settlement payout prompts protest in Oklahoma (12/3)
Second Cobell payment won't be mailed out before Christmas(12/2)

Join the Conversation