Law

Former Cheyenne River Sioux sentenced for fraud

The former chief judge for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota was sentenced to three months in prison and three years of supervised release for misrepresenting herself as Native American.

Sasaeoleisah Bluespruce claimed she was 3/4 Indian in order to receive health care from the Indian Health Service. But it turns out she is really Lisa Refert, 44, and has no Indian ancestry.

Bluespruce was also ordered to pay $8,689.45 in restitution to the federal government.

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Former Cheyenne judge gets prison time for health care fraud (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 1/10)