The Osage Nation Gaming Commission has amended its petition to consider stripping former Osage Casinos Chief Executive Officer Byron Bighorse of his gaming license because he had, in fact, documented some business expenses that were previously believed to have been claimed without justification.
The amended petition, which says the casinos supplied the commission with “new information” that has “altered the analysis of the ONGC,” reduced Bighorse’s alleged misspending on his casino credit card from $186,944.26 to $567.30.
Of that original amount, $154,040.21 turned out to be legitimate because the business purpose had been noted on purchase orders justifying the expense, according to the amended petition, which was filed June 30 but only recently became known to the Gaming Enterprise Board.
The commission recategorized another $32,904.05 as club expenses incurred at the Summit Club in Tulsa that had been charged to Bighorse’s credit card – expenses that Bighorse should reimburse, according to the commission.
The grand total the commission is now seeking in restitution for both club and credit card expenses: $134,353.08, down from the $287,825.99 it had asked for in its original petition dated Feb. 15.
Greg Laird, the attorney for the Gaming Enterprise, said the casinos had not supplied the Gaming Commission with any new documents since February.
Commission Director Elizabeth Hembree declined to comment on the matter, saying she couldn’t discuss any ongoing investigation.
The investigation into expense reporting by casino executives started in late 2021 and has unfolded publicly since the Osage Nation Congress’s Committee on Commerce, Gaming and Land decided to reclassify 1,556 pages of documents detailing spending at golf, country and dinner clubs as well as credit card charges by Bighorse and other top executives at Osage Casinos.
Bighorse’s charges were the only ones to raise a ruckus because they showed he had spent about $400,000 over three years on pricey meals, drinks, golf clubs and clothing, and other items. The documents that were released rarely documented who was present at the meals, golf outings and other events, as is required by tribal and casino policy.
Bighorse resigned as CEO of Osage Casinos on Dec. 2 and was replaced that day by Kimberly Pearson, who had been serving as the casinos’ chief operating officer.
A month later, on Jan. 3, Bighorse tried to relinquish his gaming license, but the Gaming Commission refused to accept it and has since moved forward to hold a hearing on whether to revoke or suspend his license, fine him and order him to reimburse the casinos the new total of $134,353.08.
Late last year, Bighorse reimbursed another $5,222.99 – $4,482.99 for charges racked up at the Tulsa Country Club and $740 for charges at the Patriot Golf Club in Owasso.
The Gaming Commission has now determined that he still owes the casinos $92,910.22 for charges at the Patriot, $7,971.51 for unsupported charges at the Tulsa Country Club and nearly $33,000 for charges at the Summit Club in Tulsa, including four $465 shots of 30-year-old scotch that were imbibed on July 13, 2021.
Bighorse is scheduled to go through a licensing hearing before the Gaming Commission on Aug. 25. The hearing will mark the first time that Bighorse will have a legal forum to defend himself and offer his version of events. He has retained a lawyer.
Since his resignation in December, Bighorse has remained largely silent except for a statement he made to the Tulsa World, in which he described the investigation launched by Congress as a farce.
“This is a petty tribal political situation, and I am disgusted with the defamatory comments made against me and my family,” he told the newspaper. “… I will not apologize for bringing incredible increased revenues for the Osage Nation. I did my job, and I did it very well.”