Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Oklahoma

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, September 12, 2016

Durant Man Sentenced To 6 Months Home Detention For Theft Of Gaming Establishment

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that CHARLES BLAIR SMALLWOOD, age 24, of Durant, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 6 months of home detention and 4 years of probation for THEFT BY OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF GAMING ESTABLISHMENT ON INDIAN LANDS, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2250(a)(1), 2250(a)(2)(B) and 2250(a)(3).

The charge arose from an investigation by the Choctaw Nation Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The defendant was indicted in March, 2016 and pled guilty in April, 2016.

The Indictment alleged that from in or about December 2014, to on or about August 17, 2015, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, while an employee of the Choctaw Nation Casino and Resort, in Indian Country, did embezzle, abstract, purloin, willfully misapply, and take and carry away with intent to steal any moneys, funds, assets, or other property in excess of $1,000.00 belonging to the Choctaw Nation Casino and Resort, an Indian gaming establishment operated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma pursuant to an ordinance or resolution approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The Honorable James H. Payne, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing.

Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Harrington represented the United States.