Money Smarts Training Presented to BIA Staff

Posted on March 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Fraud occurs when someone unlawfully misrepresents information, facts or events for financial gain, and according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, it’s a big problem in America. Each year eight in 10 Americans are solicited with a potentially fraudulent offer such as a phony charity fundraiser or bogus disaster-relief effort. About $50 billion is lost to fraud annually in this country and, sadly, elders are 34% more likely to be targets than middle-age individuals.

Native-led nonprofit First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation have teamed up to see that Native Americans don’t fall prey to scams by creating the Fighting Fraud 101 campaign. On February 4, 2015, Cherokee Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs employees had a chance to learn more about the exciting awareness campaign as part of an interactive financial skills workshop.

Cherokee Agency BIA staff at training were, L to R, Denny Rochester, Heather McNichols, Renee Bible, Tony Cabe, Lisa Parker, Kelcye Cook, Kim Chiltoskie, and Brooke Brown

Sarah Dewees is the Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs at First Nations and helped design a Fighting Fraud 101 toolkit to assist Native communities that could be especially susceptible to fraud. She warns that big payouts have focused a lot of attention toward Indian Country in recent years and that technology in the form of text messages, social media and email has made communities that were previously isolated and remote, like much of Indian Country, more accessible to fraudsters.

“There are definitely some at-risk Native communities right now,” Dewees said. “We’ve seen a number of highly publicized legal settlements resulting in payouts to Native people across the country. Not to mention ongoing per-capita and allotment income from sources such as gaming, leasing, and oil and gas revenues. Our goal is to work within Native communities to ensure that tribes and individuals are not targeted by fraudsters and scammers looking to exploit these windfalls.”

The three-hour workshop was offered in both morning and afternoon sessions and included detailed information on budgeting, financial recordkeeping, retirement planning and basic investing in addition to fraud awareness and prevention. Engaging learning activities were featured to reinforce key topics and concepts. One particularly interesting exercise tested recordkeeping and organizational habits by challenging participants to estimate how quickly and efficiently they could collect critical personal information and documents such as birth certificates, past years’ income tax returns, a current retirement account statement, and even the total amount they spent on holiday gifts last year.

“We’re thrilled our staff is able to receive this type of training onsite,” noted Agency Superintendent Darlene Whitetree and Deputy Superintendent Ruth McCoy. “Sound financial skills are crucial to the success of our employees both in the workplace and outside. Moreover, we encourage our staff to share this information with their families and others who might benefit from gaining a clearer understanding of finance.”

For more information on how you can join the Fighting Fraud 101 campaign or to request free fraud-fighting materials, contact First Nations Programs Consultant Shawn Spruce at agoyopi@gmail.com or (505) 247-8861. You can dowload the Fighting Fraud 101 pamphlet at this link: http://www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/predatory-lending.

By Shawn Spruce, First Nations Programs Consultant

Crow Nation Financial Workshops Help Make Sense of Tribal Land Buy-Back Program

Posted on January 9, 2015 by rblauvelt

What do you get when you combine an innovative and informative financial skills workshop with other financial information geared toward a special land buy-back program? You get lots of attendees – more than 200 – who are highly interested and engaged landowners and their families!

In November 2014, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) worked with the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, the Crow Nation, and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to offer a series of financial skills workshops designed to assist landowners on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. The full day of outreach also included presentations by senior advisors from the newly formed Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (LBBP). Information booths were provided by the Office of the Special Trustee, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Crow Tribe to provide assistance to landowners with questions about their offer packets from the Land Buy-Back Program and related issues.

The financial skills workshop was developed in response to demand from certain tribes who wished to prepare their members for the Land Buy-Back Program opportunity. The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations was established by the Interior Department to implement the land-consolidation provisions of the Cobell settlement agreement. The settlement provided for a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund to consolidate fractional land interests across Indian Country and will ultimately affect approximately 150 unique reservations that have fractional interests. The Land Buy-Back Program allows interested individual owners to receive payments for voluntarily selling their land. All interests sold are restored to tribes, which helps to keep Indian lands in trust for tribal communities.

The financial skills workshop offered information about buy-back readiness plans, budgeting and spending plans. Another very important aspect featured information to protect landowners from various types of financial fraud they could be targeted for, such as investment fraud and other related scams. Materials were provided to assist individuals and families with identifying different types of fraud, recognizing risk factors, spotting persuasion tactics, and knowing what to do if one becomes a victim. Money tips and skills like record-keeping, organization, consumer savviness, and avoiding “big money mistakes” were also hot topics. (To see more about the FINRA Investor Education Foundation/First Nations effort to prevent financial fraud, visit http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5855/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1310510.)

First Nations Consultant Shawn Spruce explained: “It was wonderful to see such a fantastic turnout of over 200 landowners. People were really excited to be there and feedback following the event was extremely positive. Of course none of this would have been possible without so many great partners to help bring us all together.”

There are several more land buy-back events planned in 2015, and First Nations plans to coordinate with the Office of the Special Trustee, the BIA and the Land Buy-Back Program to continue their outreach and training on avoiding fraud and successfully planning for windfall payments.

By Tawny Wilson, First Nations Program Officer

Protecting Native Money: How to Avoid Financial Fraud

Posted on November 17, 2014 by rblauvelt

Financial fraud is far too common in Native American communities, and is a growing problem with the recent increase in tribal lawsuit settlements with the federal government. First Nations Development Institute has partnered with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to produce a pamphlet that can help people protect themselves from common financial fraud techniques.

Over the past five years more than $1 billion in tribal trust settlements have been reached, including the Keepseagle and Cobell class-action legal settlements. Many of these settlements have resulted in payments to individual tribal members, which makes them targets for fraudsters who follow a simple strategy: They go where the money is. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation is collaborating with First Nations to help reach the recipients of these trust fund settlements, as well as other tribal members who may be targeted for their wealth.

The pamphlet, titled “Fighting Fraud 101: Smart Tips for Investors,” is designed to appeal to individuals, members of tribal investment committees, and retirees. It lists some common fraud tactics, such as the “Social Consensus” tactic that lead you to believe that your savvy friends and neighbors may have already invested in a product. With the “Source Credibility” tactic, a fraudster may falsely suggest they have worked with other tribal investment committees or helped people manage lump sum payouts from tribal lawsuits to try to gain trust. The pamphlet also teaches several techniques to avoid being taken advantage of and how to report suspicious behavior.

“We are honored to be able to collaborate with several national partners, including the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, to provide financial education for tribal members,” said First Nations President Michael Roberts.

First Nations representatives Sarah Dewees and Shawn Spruce spoke at an October 29, 2014, Federal Trade Commission event titled “Fraud Affects All Communities.” The purpose of this meeting was to highlight the range of consumer, financial and investor fraud techniques that affect diverse communities.

“A lot of people aren’t aware that financial fraud is a big problem on many Indian reservations,” said Sarah Dewees, senior director of research, policy and asset-building programs. “I am happy we have been able to continue our work with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the Office of the Special Trustee to help community members protect themselves against financial fraud.”

A copy of the pamphlet can be viewed in First Nations’ online Knowledge Center at http://www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/predatory-lending/research. To order printed copies, you can email info@firstnations.org.

By Sarah Dewees, First Nations Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs