This article was originally published by the Louisiana Illuminator, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization.
Natalie McLendon
Louisiana Illuminator
LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana – Federal regulators have directed a Louisiana casino to sever ties with a former executive who they say failed to alert auditors and potential investors about fraud allegations. The person in question is now a consultant for the casino.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ordered the Coushatta Tribal Gaming Commission to suspend the license of Todd Stewart, who was general manager of the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder. The federal agency issued the directive in a Sept. 8 letter to the tribe, according to documents the Illuminator has obtained.
Shawna Castellano, a regional director with the National Indian Gaming Commission, wrote in the letter that her agency received a complaint last year that alleged former Coushatta tribal chairman Johnathan Cernek had misused gaming revenues. Those claims were later confirmed through an accounting firm’s audit of the casino, the letter said.
Earlier this month, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor published a report from a separate independent audit that indicated the Coushatta tribe’s leadership did not keep track of credit card use, with no receipts to show for purchases totaling more than $100,000 over a two-month spending period in 2024 that was reviewed.
Cernek resigned as tribal chairman in August 2024, KPLC-TV reported. Tribal council member Crystal Williams was named acting chairperson after Cernek stepped down, and new tribal chairman David Sickey was sworn in June 13.
Williams and tribal secretary treasurer Kristian Poncho have not responded to questions from the Illuminator about how financial concerns were reported to them, when they were made aware of potential fraud involving the use of casino credit cards or the quality of information council leadership received from management and auditors during that time.
Sickey did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and tribe spokeswoman Mary Patricia Wray declined to respond before the deadline for this report.
According to Castellano’s letter, the commission interviewed Stewart on June 5 and learned he did not “disclose suspected fraud to the external auditors during the [fiscal year] 2023 annual audit of the financial statements.” Stewart also didn’t discuss the matter with “the potential lender of a $150 million construction loan the Coushatta Casino was in the process of obtaining” until the loan was actually secured, the letter said.
The Coushatta Casino Resort broke ground on a new $150 million hotel in March 2024.
The regulator’s three-page letter, sent to Coushatta Tribal Gaming Commission Chairwoman Pam Bass, also alleges Stewart was “unsure of how many credit cards were associated with the Casino bank accounts and uncertain of who was using the Casino credit cards.”
Stewart has not responded to phone calls or emailed questions from the Illuminator about how financial concerns were reported to him, his suspicions of Cernek regarding credit card spending or the scope of his current role as a consultant for the casino.
The National Indian Gaming Council declined to provide additional information about its actions involving the Coushatta tribe.
When the Illuminator reported earlier this month on the audit findings posted on the Legislative Auditor’s website, the tribal council provided a statement through its spokeswoman. It said the council’s credit cards had been eliminated, and the tribe had adopted a formal expense reporting and reimbursement policy.
Hours after the Illuminator published findings from the audit, the report was removed from the Legislative Auditor’s website. Officials said they were discussing whether the state should have posted it on their website in the first place. An attorney with the auditor’s office said federal regulations allow tribes to opt out of having their audit reports made public.
According to the letter from federal regulators, the Coushatta Tribal Gaming Commission must issue a hearing notice for Stewart’s potential license revocation and notify regulators of its decision within 45 days.
Members of the tribe’s gaming commission could not be reached for comment.