John Thomas German, Jr., Bribery, South Dakota 2021
Grimy Times has learned that a former contracting company owner has been sentenced to 84 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme. John Thomas German, Jr., 37, of Peever, South Dakota, was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment for a loss exceeding $465,000. He was ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Following his release from custody, German will serve 3 years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann presided over the sentencing hearing.
According to court documents, the Dakota Nations Development Corporation (“DNDC”) was an agency of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe, a tribal government that received federal assistance in excess of $10,000 during the one-year period between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018. At that time, Daniel Thomas White served as the Director of the DNDC.
German, along with two other partners, formed a business on December 15, 2016, called Tatanka Contracting. On October 27, 2017, DNDC contracted with Tatanka Contracting to do the earthwork associated with the elderly village project. The contract was for a guaranteed price of $1,070,740, although a change order increased the total of the contract to $1,129,679.
To secure the dirt work contract, German bribed White and White accepted the bribe. Specifically, in November 2017, German corruptly gave, offered, and agreed to give money to Daniel Thomas White, intending to influence and reward White, who was an agent of the Dakota Nations Development Corporation, in connection with a transaction and series of transactions of the Dakota Nations Development Corporation involving $5,000 or more.
White pleaded guilty to his role in the bribery scheme on August 24, 2020. He will be sentenced by Judge Kornmann on May 24, 2021. Kevin Trio, age 58, a partner of Tatanka Contracting, was recently charged for Making Material False Statements to federal agents who were investigating the business dealings surrounding the Elderly Project.
Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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