The former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation in Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns between 2014 and 2017 by not reporting over $177,000 in income.
Cedric Cromwell allegedly set up a corporate entity with the supposed intent of getting funds for a planned casino project. Prosecutors alleged that he instead used this as a shell company to accept bribes from firms that wanted to work on the planned First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton.
This included $57,549 from an architecture company, $45,023 from another architect, and $74,281 from a firm or firms that would be creating and supplying forest carbon offsets.
original trial in 2022 resulted in a conviction for extortion and bribery
Cromwell had originally pleaded not guilty in the case. The original trial in 2022 resulted in a conviction for extortion and bribery, which came with a three-year prison sentence. He fought this conviction, ultimately failing to get the case heard in the Supreme Court. The 60-year-old initially said that the funds weren’t bribes, that they were campaign contributions or gifts.
Sentencing for Cromwell for the four counts of filing a false tax return will take place on November 5, with each charge carrying up to three years in prison.
