MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The former head of the Helena Indian Alliance [1] has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution for stealing about $40,000 from the nonprofit organization.
Donald "Louie" Clayborn was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, who said there was little to be gained by sending Clayborn to prison.
Clayborn was charged after audits and an investigation at the Helena Indian Alliance revealed that he obtained cash advances and reimbursements for work trips that he never went on. Documents also say he wrote himself numerous checks from the organization's account.
He pleaded guilty in August to stealing from an organization that receives federal funds.
Clayborn's sentence includes six months of home arrest and a requirement that he repay the insurance company that covered the alliance's losses.
Clayborn resigned as HIA director in February 2007.