PHOENIX — The former housing director of the Yavapai-Apache Nation has been sentenced to 24 months in prison after she embezzled over $670,000 from the tribe.
Savannah Sandoval, 36, of Camp Verde was sentenced last week after she admitted to taking funds that were intended for funding home repairs in the Indigenous community located in eastern Yavapai County.
Sandoval had been the comptroller and executive director of the tribe's housing department, which gave her access to the department's credit cards and finances.
Between 2017 and 2022, the defendant stole more than $670,000 from the Nation. Investigators uncovered at least 184 occasions where tribal funds were fraudulently transferred into Sandoval's personal accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona.
Nation officials told the court that the insufficient amount of funds resulted in the community's elder members not being able to depend on the housing department to address their most basic maintenance requests.
“The theft here meant that roofs and floors and appliances in houses on the Nation could not be repaired or replaced," U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in a statement. "The Court’s sentence sends a strong deterrent message to those who steal from Native American communities.”
According to Sandoval's counsel, the defendant's crimes were committed out of desperation, in part, to pay for her child's expensive medical care.
"We have a desperate defendant who made poor decisions in an attempt to satisfy the needs of her family," the defense attorney wrote in court filings. "This defendant has always been a contributing member of society and someone who desires to comply with the law."
As a result of her conviction, Sandoval has been ordered to pay $650,000 in restitution. The defendant will be placed on supervised release for three years after completing the prison sentence.
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