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Northern California tribe feud continues
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Sep 3, 2014
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Northern California tribe feud continues
In the midst of a huge feud between warring factions of a Northern California Indian tribe, an audit of the tribe's spending has brought to light even more problems.
A screenshot taken September 3, 2013 of the Rolling Hills Casino website. The casino is at the center of an audit that revealed millions of dollars in mismanaged funds.
A screenshot taken September 3, 2013 of the Rolling Hills Casino website. The casino is at the center of an audit that revealed millions of dollars in mismanaged funds.
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In the midst of a huge feud between warring factions of a Northern California Indian tribe, an audit of the tribe's spending has brought to light even more problems.

In the midst of a huge feud between warring factions of a Northern California tribe, an audit of the tribe's spending has brought to light even more problems. 

"If you believe what the auditors say, there was a complete lack of normal book keeping practices, very few records were kept and millions of dollars are missing," says Sam Stanton who has been covering the story for the Sacramento Bee. 

The audit is just the latest problem facing the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, which runs the Rolling Hills Casino near Corning, Calif.

Problems started in April, when tribal Chairman Andrew Freeman decided he would suspend three council members and dozens of others over questions whether they belonged to the tribe. Each adult member of the tribe, about 216 of them, receives $54,000 annually in casino revenue, according to Stanton, and the council oversees the distribution of that money.

"The whole thing blew apart. There was an armed confrontation in front of the casino between the two factions and it ended up in federal court," Stanton said. 

Read the full story: Audit finds Corning tribe mismanaged millions in casino funds