Former chair of Mashpee Wampanoag tribe pleads guilty to tax fraud

The former leader of Massachusetts Mashpee Wampanoag Nation got in trouble yet again for fraud Cedric Cromwell of Attleboro pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to four counts of filing a false tax return Prosecutors say that he failed to document more than on his federal tax returns from through Cromwell was once the chairman of the Cape Cod-based Mashpee Wampanoag tribe also known as the People of the First Light It was in this ceiling that he served as owner s representative for a casino project that ended up being his downfall even though his history in court has had its ups and downs On May a federal jury sitting in Boston convicted Cromwell of three counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official light The trial court then vacated that conviction but the Appeals Court reinstated it When Cromwell then appealed to the U S Supreme Court the court declined to hear his occurrence Prosecutors say that Cromwell extorted an architecture and design firm contracted to design the proposed First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton Cromwell created the One Nation Improvement LLC corporate entity supposedly to fund the casino project but instead used it as a shell company to hide his bribes according to court documents Federal prosecutors say that Cromwell failed to statement that he extorted from the architecture firm failed to assessment that he received from the initial architect on the casino project and failed to account that he received from one or more companies which developed and supplied forest carbon offsets Filing a false tax return carries a sentence of up to three years in prison the extortion charges each provide sentences of up to years in prison U S District Court Judge Nathaniel M Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov