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Navajo Nation Official Pleads Not Guilty To $6M Theft Charge

AP Photo/Mary Hudetz

A Navajo Nation official has been accused of unlawfully transferring $6 million of Ramah Navajo Chapter funds to different investing companies without proper authorization.

Tribal officials say Ramah Navajo Chapter President David Jose was arraigned Monday on three counts of theft. He pleaded not guilty.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Prosecutors say one of the investment companies filed for bankruptcy less than a year after Jose made a $1 million transfer to the company.

The Navajo Nation Department of Justice is seeking to recover those funds in a bankruptcy proceeding.

The Ramah Chapter is located in New Mexico and is part of the Navajo Nation.