Two sisters from Savoonga, on St. Lawrence Island, have been sentenced in Anchorage for embezzling thousands of dollars from the Native Village of Savoonga.
Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Burgess sentenced Sylvia Toolie, 60, to eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised released. Peggy Akeya, 57, was sentenced to five years’ probation, three months of home confinement and 120 hours of community service.
Toolie and Akeya were ordered to pay restitution to the Native Village of Savoonga of $69,563.07 and $14,855.81 respectively. 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.
The theft took place between April 2011 and May 2012, when Toolie was employed by the regional nonprofit corporation Kawerak, and assigned to serve as tribal coordinator for the Native Village of Savoonga, the court sad. Akeya used her positon as secretary and unofficial bookkeeper to sign numerous unauthorized checks to herself and others that were drawn on the tribe’s bank account.
The investigation began after the tribe ran out of money in mid-November 2011 despite having received considerable federal funding that year.
