Bribery, theft, and betrayal of public trust have landed two men behind bars after a high-level corruption scheme unraveled within the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town. George Phillip Tiger, 70, of Bristow, Oklahoma, and Aaron Dewayne Terry, 64, of Wichita Falls, Texas, were sentenced this week in federal court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, after admitting to siphoning tribal funds and trading bribes for influence.
Tiger, the former Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and agent of the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town (AQTT), was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, admitting he solicited and accepted bribes from Terry between September 26, 2017, and February 15, 2019, while serving as Chairman of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) Board.
Terry was hit with a 48-month sentence for theft and embezzlement of $1,250,000 from AQTT-owned business entities, plus 36 months for filing false tax returns — sentences to run concurrently. He was also ordered to pay $105,068.58 in restitution for federal tax fraud. Terry admitted to holding executive control within the tribal businesses and exploiting that power to funnel money for personal gain, all while orchestrating a bribery scheme with Tiger.
The AQTT, a federally recognized tribe based in Wetumka, Oklahoma, with 461 enrolled members, operates primarily in federal contract procurement out of Huntsville, Alabama. Its economic ventures, funded in part by federal dollars, were meant to uplift tribal members — not finance the greed of those in power. Instead, Tiger and Terry turned tribal operations into a criminal enterprise focused on self-enrichment.
‘Mr. Tiger took advantage of the position of trust he had been given by the people of the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town,’ said United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester. ‘Instead of acting in the best interests of those he was appointed to serve, Tiger sought out and received unlawful profit for himself.’ Kuester emphasized the DOJ’s commitment to rooting out corruption in tribal and federally funded programs.
‘While serving as appointed officials within the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, George Tiger and Aaron Terry engaged in various bribery schemes with the sole intention of personal financial gain,’ said FBI Oklahoma City SAC Melissa Godbold. ‘The prosecution of these subjects should serve as a warning that law enforcement will not tolerate officials who abuse their positions of trust.’ The case was jointly investigated by the FBI, DCIS, and IRS-CI.
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Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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