RAPID CITY — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - South Dakota), published as received.

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rushville, Nebraska, woman convicted of four counts of Wire Fraud and three counts of Money Laundering.  The sentencing took place on June 29, 2026. 

Buffy Redfish, age 57, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,744,415.36 in restitution.

From May 2006 to November 2024, Redfish worked for the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s (OST) Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO), which enforces the tribal requirement that all employers engaged in business on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation give preference to qualified Native Americans in employment, contracting, and other business or economic development activities.  One of Redfish’s duties was to collect TERO fee checks from contractors and transfer them to OST’s revenue department for deposit into the tribe’s general fund. Between November 2017 and May 2024, Redfish and a co-defendant, working together, developed a scheme to defraud OST by diverting TERO fee checks totaling more than $4.7 million belonging to the tribe and depositing the checks into the co-defendant’s bank account. The two then split the embezzled funds between themselves and used the funds for their own personal benefit, including purchasing homes and vehicles. Redfish is a member of the Gila Tribe in Arizona.

“This Administration has made prosecution of government fraud a top priority,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons.  “This substantial prison sentence for stealing millions of dollars from the Oglala Sioux Tribe is another step forward by our office in fulfilling that directive.”

“Together with her co-defendant, Buffy Redfish stole $4.7 million from an Oglala Sioux Tribe program and out of the hands of the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation," said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. "The FBI will take every necessary investigative step to stop fraud and ensure the integrity of public programs. Those entrusted with public and tribal funds must uphold that trust or they face significant prison sentences."

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

Redfish was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.