Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, November 21, 2022

Former Tribal Official Sentenced to Prison for Bribery Scheme 

A former Tribal government official of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation) was sentenced today to six years and three months in prison for a bribery scheme involving soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from a contractor providing construction services on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which is the home of the MHA Nation.

According to court documents, from November 2014 through November 2018, Frank Charles Grady, 54, of Billings, Montana, was an elected representative on the Tribal Business Council, the governing body of the MHA Nation. Beginning around 2016 and continuing through 2017, Grady solicited and accepted bribes and kickbacks totaling more than $260,000 from a contractor operating on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. In exchange for the payments, Grady used his official position to help the contractor’s business, including by awarding contracts, fabricating bids during purportedly competitive bidding processes, advocating for the contractor with other Tribal officials, and facilitating the submission and payment of fraudulent invoices.  

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl for the District of North Dakota, and Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

The FBI Minnesota Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and John J. Liolos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Greenley for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.

U.S. Department of Justice Press Release