HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation official is set to be sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing from a Chippewa Cree tribal rodeo association bank account.

The case against Wade Colliflower is part of a long-running federal investigation into corruption on Montana’s Indian reservations. As of last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Guardians Project has resulted in the conviction of 17 other defendants on the Rocky Boy’s reservation and 24 more on the Blackfeet, Crow, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations.

In this case, prosecutors say Colliflower and former tribal councilman John “Chance” Houle embezzled rodeo association money between May 2010 and June 2012. Colliflower, who was the vice president of the Chippewa Cree Tribe Rodeo Association and the president of the Bear Paw Indian Rodeo Association, provided Houle with cash kickbacks and kept additional cash for himself, according to prosecutors.

Colliflower pleaded guilty in December to one count theft from an Indian tribal organization. Houle has pleaded guilty to four criminal counts, including bribery, theft and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors and Colliflower’s attorney differ on how much Colliflower should pay back and whether he should serve time in prison. The federal government is recommending an 18-month prison sentence and $149,000 in restitution, while Colliflower attorney Daniel Donovan is seeking three years’ probation and $44,750 in restitution.

Prosecutors contend that of the $209,000 taken from the Bear Paw Indian Rodeo Association account over two years, only $60,000 was for legitimate rodeo expenses.

Colliflower accepts responsibility for his actions but the amount of stolen money that he is accountable for is much lower than prosecutors’ estimates, Donovan argued in court filings.

The attorney asked U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to not send Colliflower to prison, saying the defendant needs to support his family and that he already has been punished by the loss of credibility and reputation in his community.