A council member for the Seminole Tribe of Florida is voting on land deals that benefit his pocketbook, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

David Cypress and his business partner bought 534 acres from the tribe in a deal he voted on as a council member. They ended up selling the land at a $4.5 million profit, the paper said.

In another deal, Cypress and his partner bought nearly 1,000 acres from the tribe. The land was sold for a $6.9 million profit.

A third deal netted Cypress and his partner $15.3 million. When the tribe owned the same parcels of land, they were only appraised at $4.9 million.

Krishna Lawrence, the non-Indian partner, has benefited from other deals with the tribe, the paper said. Tribal leaders said they saw nothing wrong with the transactions.

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Seminole leader, friend profited from land deals (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 6/8)
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