Spokane Tribe Official Imprisoned on 25 Counts of Fraud, Embezzlement

The former director of Children and Family Services for the Spokane Indian Tribe will be sentenced in December for their role in a major fraud operation.

  The worker was convicted on 25 counts

Eastern WA US Attorney Pete Serrano announced via an information release on Wednesday, September 17th, that Tawhnee Willow Colvin of Davenport, WA was found guilty of 25 counts of fraud and one embezzlement count by a Federal jury in Spokane.

Colvin was the Assistant Director of the Tribe's Childrens' and Family Services Deptartment

According to the US Attorney's Office:

" Between October 2019 and November 2023, Colvin abused her position of trust to make more than seventy fraudulent money transfers, starting with small transfers until she eventually transferred thousands of dollars at a time, totaling over $50,000, from the DCFS bank account to her own personal bank account."

Even after she was terminated in 2023 when the shortfalls were discovered, she continued to use her credentials to withdraw more cash, $50,000, from the DCFS account to her own.

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Authorities did not say in the release why she took the funds, but she will be sentenced on December 15th. in  Federal Court in Spokane.