Jul. 24—FORT THOMPSON, S.D. — A Fort Thompson woman has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for embezzling over $44,000 from the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe while serving as its Human Resources Director.
Mariah Pearl Sazue, 35, was sentenced on July 21, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte. She will also serve two years of supervised release, must pay $44,627.25 in restitution to the tribe, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Sazue served as HR Director for the tribe from June 2022 to May 2024. Beginning in December 2022, she submitted timesheets with forged signatures and grossly inflated overtime hours. She was fired in May 2024 after the fraud was discovered.
When first confronted, Sazue denied wrongdoing, saying she “would never take advantage of the tribe.”
She was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024 and pleaded guilty in April 2025. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem.
Sazue was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following sentencing.