Indictment Handed Down to People Who Stole from Yakama Nation Scholarship Fund

Fifteen people have been accused of stealing $179,000 worth of scholarships from the Yakama Nation Higher Education Program.

An indictment in federal court in Yakima says they were awarded 67 checks for studies at colleges and universities that reported the students had never enrolled or completed coursework.

FBI agents and Yakama Nation police arrested 11 of the defendants on Tuesday.

The tribe's higher education program administered funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe's own scholarship program.