BIA officer denies federal corruption charges

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) – The highest-ranking Bureau of Indian Affairs officer on the Fort Peck Reservation has pleaded not guilty to several federal corruption charges related to thefts from the tribe's loan program.

Superintendent Florence White Eagle of Poplar appeared in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday and denied six charges, including theft and conversion from an Indian tribal organization, bribery and concealment of public corruption. The 63-year-old is currently released on special conditions.

Prosecutors say White Eagle participated in a scheme in which more than $1 million was embezzled from a program that helps tribal members with loans. Court records say the scheme ran from 1999 to 2009.

She is the third BIA employee on the reservation to be charged, and at least 10 people have been charged in the case.