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Man sentenced in Omaha Tribal Council bonuses case

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October 29th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Omaha Tribal official who admitted using federal funds to give himself a bonus has been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution. The Sioux City (Iowa) Journal reports that former council member Doran Morris Jr. was given five years of probation at his sentencing Friday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. Morris was ordered to pay restitution of more than $13,400. He’d pleaded guilty to misapplication of health care benefit program funds.

Prosecutors say nine former and current officials misused federal funds by awarding themselves nearly $389,000 in bonuses. Officials say the bonuses were paid from Indian Health Service funds meant to provide health care to members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, who reside on the Omaha Reservation in Macy in northeastern Nebraska and in western Iowa.