Fred Paquin, 52, of St. Ignace, pled not guilty Wednesday, January 20, to 15 charges related to an alleged conspiracy to defraud the federal government. Mr. Paquin is the former Chief of Police for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the charges are related to his role there and as a former tribal board member. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Mr. Paquin Tuesday, January 19, in St. Ignace, the same day an indictment was filed with the U.S. District Court in Marquette. While Mr. Paquin is now free on bond awaiting a court date, the City of St. Ignace says the charges against him automatically disqualify him for consideration as a candidate for the city police chief job, for which he was one of four finalists last week.

A grand jury also charged Mr. Paquin and his daughter, Mary Cullen, 28, of St. Ignace, a teacher at Gros Cap School, with multiple counts related to an alleged conspiracy to pay Mrs. Cullen as a full-time tribal employee after she was no longer working full-time for the tribe.

Under advice from his attorney, Joe Kwiatkowski of Cheboygan, Mr. Paquin declined to comment about the charges against himself Friday, January 22, however, he told The St. Ignace News that his daughter is innocent and should not be charged with these offenses.

"Mary has done absolutely nothing wrong," Mr. Paquin said.

Mrs. Cullen was not arrested and has not yet been arraigned on the four charges she was indicted on, but the U.S. District Attorney's office said she will be eventually be arraigned in U.S. District Court. A date and time for that has not yet been set.

If convicted, Mrs. Cullen could face up to five years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years supervised release after imprisonment, a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution for each of the four counts she is indicted on.

In the first count against Mr. Paquin, conspiracy to defraud the United States of America by dishonest means, the grand jury charges that between 2002 and 2008, Mr. Paquin, along with Hope Schlehuber, Mr. Paquin's former administrative assistant at the tribal police department, obtained and submitted invoices from a variety of businesses for the sole purpose of acquiring positive company credits to use for his own personal and political advantage.

Charges allege these invoices were submitted and paid even though the purchases were not actually made, and include payments of $112,712.88 to the Michigan Police Equipment Company; $60,676.70 to the Nye Uniform Company; $55,731.24 to Galls, Inc.; and $13,019 at Leitz's Sport Center, Inc.

Mrs. Schlehuber, of Moran, pled guilty Tuesday, January 12, to one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America, and her sentencing is set for April 27. She could face up to five years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release after imprisonment, a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution.

After being arrested and arraigned in Marquette, Mr. Paquin was released on a conditional bond, which stipulates that he cannot have firearms in his home, that he cannot leave the region, and that he cannot speak with any witnesses in the case. U.S. Attorney Maarten Vermaat from Marquette, the prosecuting attorney, said there are no court dates yet set for Mr. Paquin or Mrs. Cullen.

The rest of the charges in the case are as follows:

Count 2 against Mr. Paquin, conspiracy to embezzle and steal more than $1,000 from an Indian Tribal Organization, alleges that Mr. Paquin and Mrs. Schlehuber embezzled money, credits, and properties belonging to the tribal law enforcement department.

Counts 3 and 4 against Mr. Paquin, theft from a program receiving federal funds and embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, respectively, allege that Mr. Paquin knowingly used grant money set aside for the tribal law enforcement department to purchase defibrillators and provided them to casinos and a health and fitness club.

Count 5 against Mr. Paquin, embezzlement and theft from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mr. Paquin knowingly embezzled law enforcement funds and credits for personal purchases.

Count 6 against Mr. Paquin, embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mr. Paquin used law enforcement funds in excess of $1,000 to purchase an allterrain vehicle to be raffled off for the Junior Police Academy.

Count 7 against Mr. Paquin, embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mr. Paquin wrongly appropriated $2,457 in law enforcement funds and grant money for the leasing of a vehicle from Mackinac Sales, a St. Ignace dealership, for a relative.

Counts 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 against Mr. Paquin, all for making and using a false writing or document, allege that Mr. Paquin intentionally falsified documents in requesting and using grant money.

Count 13 against Mr. Paquin and Mrs. Cullen, conspiracy to embezzle and steal more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges the two conspired with Mrs. Schlehuber to embezzle tribal money and credits for Mrs. Cullen to draw a full-time dispatcher salary from the tribal law enforcement department and falsified time and attendance data for the job.

Count 14 against Mr. Paquin, theft from a program receiving federal funds, alleges Mr. Paquin wrongfully paid $21,000 to Mrs. Cullen from the law enforcement department, which receives federal funding.

Count 15 against Mr. Paquin, embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mr. Paquin knowingly embezzled funds from the tribe in the payments to Mrs. Cullen.

Count 16 against Mrs. Cullen, embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mrs. Cullen knowingly and wrongly took tribal money.

Counts 17 and 18 against Mrs. Cullen, both for making a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation, alleges Mrs. Cullen falsely stated her hours working for the tribal law enforcement department to investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Count 19 against Mr. Paquin, embezzlement and theft of more than $1,000 from an Indian tribal organization, alleges Mr. Paquin knowingly used tribal funds to purchase a $1,119 treadmill for the tribe's youth detention facility and allowed it to be used for another purpose.

If convicted of counts 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, or 19, Mr. Paquin could face, for each charge, up to five years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release after imprisonment, a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution. If convicted of counts 3 or 14, Mr. Paquin could face, for each charge, up to 10 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release after imprisonment, a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution. If convicted of count 5, a misdemeanor, Mr. Paquin could face up to one year in prison, up to a $100,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release, up to five years of probation, a $25 special assessment fee, and restitution.

The FBI declined to comment on whether the investigation is continuing into the matters Mr. Paquin was indicted on. Brian Delaney, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Grand Rapids, said none of the businesses mentioned in the indictments are targets of their investigation, since they didn’t profit from it and may not have known what Mr. Paquin was allegedly doing.

Also a former St. Ignace police officer, Mr. Paquin served as tribal police chief from September 1997 to November 2007, when an assault complaint against Mr. Paquin caused the tribal board to place him on suspension. He was reinstated as tribal chief in March 2008 after the dismissal of assault charges.

A second suspension was announced in May 2008, when the FBI began investigations into Mr. Paquin's activities as tribal police chief.

Mr. Paquin was first elected to the tribal board of directors in July 1996, representing Unit III (the St. Ignace area), and was defeated for the seat in July 2008 by Patrick Rickley of St. Ignace.

Mr. Paquin was named last week by St. Ignace City Council as one of the four finalists for the city's nowvacant police chief position, even after apparently vetting the candidates, although City Manager Eric Dodson told The St. Ignace News Wednesday, January 20, that the federal charges will automatically remove him from consideration for that position.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General, Fraud Detection Office assisted the FBI in the investigation.