A federal jury in Spokane, Washington, has found Tawhnee Willow Colvin, a former assistant director of the Spokane Tribe of Indians’ Department of Health and Human Services and Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), guilty on twenty-five counts of bank fraud and one count of embezzlement. The verdict was delivered on September 11, 2025.
Colvin, who is from Davenport, Washington, held access to a tribal bank account containing per capita funds designated for the care of children under temporary custody by the tribe. Evidence presented at trial showed that between October 2019 and November 2023, Colvin conducted more than seventy unauthorized money transfers from this account to her personal bank account. These transactions began with small amounts but later increased to thousands of dollars at a time. In total, she transferred over $50,000 to herself and withdrew more than $50,000 in cash from the same account.
Despite being terminated from her position on October 23, 2023, Colvin continued to transfer funds to her personal account after her dismissal.
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, commented: “For years, Ms. Colvin abused the faith placed in her as a public servant to steal tribal funds intended to care for children in foster care. For her own personal gain, she stole more than $100,000, leaving the account almost completely drained. Every one of these dozens of transfers diverted resources away from the most vulnerable members of our society and into her pockets. The FBI is committed to holding accountable fraudsters who choose greed instead of safeguarding the funds under their stewardship.”
United States Attorney Pete Serrano stated: “In an egregious breach of trust and solely for her own personal interest, Ms. Colvin exploited her position as the Assistant Director of DCFS for the Spokane Tribe of Indian to steal thousands of dollars from vulnerable children over a period of years. Brazenly, Ms. Colvin continued her crimes even after the Tribe terminated her employment. Sadly, it remains unknown how many children Ms. Colvin harmed through her crimes. The United States Attorney’s Office is grateful for the diligent efforts of the FBI who investigated this case, the trust and collaboration of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the prosecutors and staff at our office who ensured Ms. Colvin was brought to justice.”
The Spokane Tribe previously issued a statement thanking both the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their involvement in resolving this matter.
Colvin is scheduled for sentencing on December 15, 2025.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frieda K. Zimmerman and Jeremy J. Kelley.
