MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for bilking friends and family members out of retirement savings in an illegal scheme to develop land belonging to American Indian tribes in Montana.
The Mail Tribune reports that 32-year-old Gilbert Birdinground Pugliano of Medford used the money for expensive cars and vacations.
Police said Pugliano has roots in an American Indian community in Montana, and it may have helped him convince victims that what he was doing was legitimate — even though it is illegal to purchase tribal land for development.
Pugliano was indicted last fall on various counts of racketeering, aggravated theft, securities fraud and selling unlicensed securities.
