Court records unsealed in bribery case between contractor and Three Affiliated Tribes officials

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Court records for a bribery case between a contractor and officials of the Three Affiliated Tribes were unsealed by the North Dakota District Court on Nov. 16.

Contractor Francisco Javier Solis Chacon pleaded guilty in Feb. 2019, to bribing officials who were agents of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. Court documents report the officials paid Solis Chacon inflated rates, totaling millions of dollars, for construction projects in return for hundreds of thousands in kickbacks. The Court sealed documents after federal agents asked to protect the investigation into bribery and kickback schemes.

In his guilty plea, Solis Chacon admitted he paid at least $240,000 in kickbacks to an employee in the Four Bears segment office and $202,800 to an elected representative on the Tribal Business Council, among others.

A special agent with the FBI reported Solis Chacon “bragged” to him that “working on the [Fort Berthold Indian Reservation] was like being in Mexico, if you knew the right people, you could do whatever you wanted.” He said Solis Chacon said he was able to obtain work because he made “donations” and had three different businesses registered in North Dakota so he could submit three bids for the same work.

Solis Chacon is set to be sentenced Dec. 20.