Man accused of defrauding tribe denied license

Wednesday, May 19, 2004  

A businessman who has been accused of defrauding the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was denied an off-track betting license on Tuesday.

Gary Minard and his attorneys blamed his troubles on "dissident" members of the tribe, whose reservation covers North and South Dakota. But the North Dakota Racing Commission wasn't convinced that Minard was trustworthy enough to receive the betting license.

Minard reportedly started a corporation and obtained a $722,000 loan and $3 million in federal housing guarantees by claiming to be a tribal entity. He said he was trying to improve a "ghetto-like" housing project on the reservation but a tribal jury has found the corporation guilty of fraud.

"You're closer to Baghdad when you're at the reservation than you are to Washington, D.C.," Minard's attorney told the commission, according to The Bismarck Tribune.

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