Former Oglala Sioux Tribal President Julian Bear Runner is scheduled to stand trial May 2nd on charges he embezzled some $80,000 from the tribe. The youngest man elected president, Bear Runner served a single 2-year term from 2018-2020.
U-S Attorney for South Dakota Alison Ramsdell says a federal grand jury had indicted the 37-year old Bear Runner in September on 6 counts of Wire Fraud, 1 count of Larceny, and 1 count of Embezzlement and Theft from an Indian Tribal Organization.
       Bear Runner turned himself in and appeared before a federal Magistrate Judge last Friday, pleading Not Guilty to all the charges.
 He was deemed a flight risk, denied bail, and remanded to the U-S Marshals Service pending trial. He will remain in jail until his next court appearance, which has yet to be scheduled.
      The indictment accuses Bear Runner of submitting phony travel vouchers for official business travel in 2019 and 2020 and of receiving payment for travel he didn’t take. He faces up to 20 years in custody and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The investigation was done by the FBI and the Inspector General’s Office of the U-S Dept of Health and Human Services. Assistant U-S Attorney Benjamin Patterson is the lead prosecutor.
Bear Runner faced multiple legal battles while president, some related to his official duties and some to his private life.
The tribal council suspended him for 30 days in July 2020 for not consulting with it before issuing a COVID-19 lockdown order
A month later, he was placed on leave and an impeachment trial held after a young Lakota man accused Bear Runner of coercing him into sex while a minor. He lost the vote 11-5 with 5 abstentions – shy of the 2/3rds majority needed for impeachment.
Bear Runner was arrested in May 2020 on the reservation for drunk driving and threats and in Rapid City that November, after losing his reelection bid, for Failure to Vacate after fighting with security at a sports bar and casino.
Beer Runner can not seem to keep himself out of trouble.