Woman Sentenced for Stealing from St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority

A Cumberland woman has been sentenced to prison after being accused of stealing over $200,000 from St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority.

According to a news release from the Department of Justice Western District of Wisconsin, 55 year old Karen Johnson of Cumberland, Wisconsin will serve one year and one day in prison for wire fraud, followed by three years of supervised release. Johnson was sentenced by United States District Judge William M. Conley after pleading guilty to the charge on September 1st, 2023. She will also be required to pay $179,982 in restitution.

Johnson was accused of stealing over $200,000 dollars from the the St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority between 2014 and 2019, using her position with the organization to write checks for personal expenses. She would then create and approve false invoices which billed the Housing Authority for work from a contractor, forged the contractor’s signature, and deposited the checks into her own account.

Johnson had worked at the St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority, an agency of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, since 1995. The agency provides and maintains housing for low-income tribal members and receives funding through federal grants.

Judge Conley found her conduct serious, saying she took advantage of her position and deprived other tribal members of financial support and noted a custodial sentence was warranted due to the length of time over which Johnson was stealing the funds from the organization.

The charges were investigated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Taylor L. Kraus.