As per the terms of the bank’s motion, if the accounts had been closed, a check for the balance would have been mailed to the address on file with the bank, which is the tribes’ complex in Concho, Okla. Janice Prairie Chief-Boswell’s administration is operating out of the complex while the other woman claiming to be governor, Leslie Wandrie-Harjo, and her government, are based out of El Reno, Okla.
ARAPAHO, Okla. – A request to close out the Cheyenne and Arapaho’s accounts with the First Bank and Trust of Clinton, Okla., was denied Monday morning.
“Granting the bank’s request would be tantamount to something I can’t legally do: decide which government is the legitimate one,” Custer County District Court judge Doug Haught said.
The request to close the account came last month after the bank received conflicting information as to who has signatory authority for the tribes’ more than 30 accounts. According to the tribes’ account agreement with the bank, the only person with signatory authority is the governor, a position that has been disputed for almost two years.
As per the terms of the bank’s motion, if the accounts had been closed, a check for the balance would have been mailed to the address on file with the bank, which is the tribes’ complex in Concho, Okla. Janice Prairie Chief-Boswell’s administration is operating out of the complex while the other woman claiming to be governor, Leslie Wandrie-Harjo, and her government, are based out of El Reno, Okla.
Since June 21, the bank accounts have been under the supervision of the Custer County District Court. Officials from either government attempting to withdraw funds must contact the court and the other government in writing before any removals are allowed. To date, no one has filed a request to access the more than $6.4 million in frozen funds.
“At this point, we just want to stop the bleeding and extricate ourselves from the situation,” said Scott Meacham, attorney for First Bank and Trust. “We have the right to close it (the accounts) but didn’t want to violate the court order, depending on the court’s definition of disbursement.”
In his argument, Meacham addressed Haught’s concerns that mailing a check to the address of record would effectively decide who was the legitimate governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.
“They (the check recipient) would only have authority if they can find a bank that will accept the check,” Meacham said. “The bearer would have to show proof to that new bank that they are the legitimate authority.”
Haught also denied the bank’s request to recover attorneys’ fees at this time. Although the tribes’ bank agreement includes a provision to allow it, Haught cited other pending litigation between the bank and the tribes as justification for deferred action.
According to the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network, the Boswell administration has an appeal pending with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Haught’s June 21 order that placed the tribes’ accounts under court supervision.
Excluding the workers at their five western Oklahoma casinos, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes employ about 500 people. More than 12,000 people are enrolled in the constitutionally-bound tribes, including about 5,000 who live within the tribes’ nine-county jurisdictional area.