Law

Report explains how director stole $20K from Cayuga Nation minors

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Some young members of the Cayuga Nation of New York. Photo by Susie Walton Campbell via Facebook

The New York State Inspector General released an investigation into the theft of nearly $20,000 from trust accounts belonging to Cayuga Nation minors.

As director of Native American Services, Kim Thomas-Muffoletto was able to take the money over seven years without being detected, the report said. She was the only official with authority over the accounts but there was no oversight of her powers.

“This corrupt state employee was able to steal nearly $20,000 meant for children’s futures because of lax oversight at the agency charged with safeguarding those funds,” Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott sad in a press release that accompanied the report.

Thomas-Muffoletto pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced to five years of probation, The Finger Lake Times reported in April 2015. She was ordered to pay restitution of $19,993.63, the amount she took from the Cayuga Nation children.

The Cayuga Nation is now managing the minors trust fund, which receives money from an annual annuity paid to the tribe by the state. The tribe distributes the $2,300 on a per capita basis, with funds for "Cayuga minors who did not reside with their parents, but rather resided with another caretaker or in foster care" being put into separate accounts, the report stated.

Get the Story:
Audit: Cayuga Nation trust fund had no safeguards (The Finger Lakes Times 3/4)
State finds lack of oversight allowed Getzville woman to embezzle nearly $20,000 (The Buffalo News 3/2)
Report blasts state agency for employee theft from Cayuga Nation trust fund (The Auburn Citizen 3/2)
NY: Agency's lack of controls allowed director to steal from Cayuga Nation kids (The Syracuse Post-Standard 3/1)

New York State Inspector General Report:
Investigation into Theft of Funds from Cayuga Nation Minors’ Accounts by Office of Children and Family Services Employee Kim Thomas-Muffoletto (March 2016)