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Pine Ridge Man Accused of Swindling $1,000 in Overtime Pay
A Pine Ridge, South Dakota man has been accused of stealing over $1,000 in overtime pay while working as a Wildland Fire Operations Specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2009.
According to the indictment, Michael Twiss, 49, was charged with Theft of Government Property and False Statement by a federal grand jury on November 19, 2013.
Twiss appeared in court on December 4, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy and pleaded not guilty to the indictment.
Twiss is facing up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund on each charge. Restitution may also be ordered.
The investigation into the theft is being conducted by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen will be prosecuting the case.
Twiss was released on bond pending trial and a trial date has been set for February 18, 2014.
The charges against Twiss are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This is not the first time a government employee has been accused of stealing from the system. In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases of government employees embezzling funds and misusing government resources.
It is unclear at this time how Twiss was able to get away with stealing the overtime pay for so long. However, it is clear that the Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are taking this case seriously and are working to bring Twiss to justice.
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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