Anchorage, Alaska – Two sisters, Sylvia Toolie, 60, and Peggy Akeya, 57, of Savoonga, Alaska, have been sentenced for embezzling funds from the Native Village of Savoonga.
Between April 2011 and May 2012, Toolie and Akeya stole from the Tribe using their positions of trust to do so. Toolie was a full-time salaried employee of Kawerak, Inc. who was assigned to serve as the Native Village of Savoonga’s tribal coordinator.
Toolie was sentenced yesterday to serve eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Akeya was sentenced on Tuesday, September 12, to a term of five years’ probation, three months’ home confinement, and 120 hours of community service.
Toolie and Akeya were ordered to pay restitution to the Native Village of Savoonga in the amounts of $69,563.07 and $14,855.81, respectively. Judge Burgess also ordered Akeya to record statements for a public service announcement to raise awareness of the consequences that follow from embezzling tribal government or other public funds.
Their crimes had an exponential impact on Savoonga, as the investigation revealed that the funds that Toolie and Akeya embezzled were supposed to pay for repairs to homes and public buildings damaged during a severe December 2010 winter storm. Due to the suspicious payments, the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has withheld funding from the Native Village of Savoonga since fiscal year 2012.
In sentencing Toolie, Judge Burgess underscored the significant and serious consequences that stealing tribal or public funds will be met with, including going to jail.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG).
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Sylvia Toolie, 60, and Peggy Akeya, 57
Criminal Charges: Embezzlement
City and State: Savoonga, Alaska
Exact Date: September 12, 2023 (sentencing)
Sentence or Outcome: Toolie: 8 months in prison, 3 years supervised release; Akeya: 5 years’ probation, 3 months’ home confinement, 120 hours community service
Dollar Amounts: Toolie: $69,563.07; Akeya: $14,855.81
Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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