New housing construction by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Photo from Lumbee Housing Department
North Carolina newspaper accuses leaders of Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina of stealing federal housing funds that were supposed to benefit their members:
Last week and to his credit, Paul Brooks, the chairman of the Lumbee Tribal Government, taking a stab at transparency, held a press conference to provide the public with details on why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is asking for the return of $225,000 from that government. According to a report, HUD discovered federal dollars were misspent on, among other things, duplicate veterans services, food, a fishing trip, and the improper purchase of a mobile home. It was only a year ago that news broke that the tribe would have to repay HUD about $450,000 for paying illegal stipends to council members over a period of several years, during which the stipends, to no one’s surprise, kept getting bigger. Stipends are not a permitted use of federal dollars intended for housing, so essentially the sitting council members were stealing the money. The tribe doesn’t have the ability to raise that kind of money, so HUD reimbursed itself by withholding that amount from the housing disbursement to the tribe for the current fiscal year. So the council members who profited from the illegal stipend kept the money and some poor Lumbee Indians in need of housing help have been denied it.Get the Story:
Editorial: The absence of accountability enables pilfering (The Robesonian 6/3)
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