The charges stem from false billing practices used by contractors from three companies between 2008 and 2011 while construction efforts were underway at Choctaw casinos in Durant and Pocola.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Federal sentencing proceedings for a former Choctaw Nation executive director are underway.
After almost three hours of testimony Tuesday, Judge James Payne with the Eastern District of Oklahoma asked attorneys for both sides to submit additional briefs by May 11 to help determine the appropriate punishment for Jason Merida, the Choctaw Nation’s former top construction executive.
Merida was convicted in November on two counts each of theft and tax fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bribery. He was acquitted of an additional charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The charges stem from false billing practices used by contractors from three companies between 2008 and 2011 while construction efforts were underway at Choctaw casinos in Durant and Pocola. Funds generated by the overcharging and false billings were used to make large campaign donations and purchase lavish gifts. Six other conspirators were also convicted as part of the pay to play scheme.
Among the gifts he received and failed to declare on his tax returns included hunting trips to New Mexico and Missouri, $20,000 in cash, more than $40,000 in Kohler home fixtures, a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, a golf weekend at Pebble Beach, California, tickets to a Dallas Cowboys playoff game and two Kawasaki Mules.
Specifically at issue for Payne Tuesday was whether Merida constitutes a public official and whether he could have reasonably known about a false billing by Tulsa-based Builders Steel to pre-purchase more than $10 million worth of steel. Both distinctions could impact the length of Merida’s sentence.
