Ex-Navajo Nation controller faces new criminal complaints

The Associated Press

GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation has accused its former top financial officer of misrepresenting information on a company hired to do rapid COVID-19 testing on the reservation.

According to the Farmington Daily Times, criminal complaints filed Friday in tribal court allege Pearline Kirk violated tribal law in advising the tribal government to hire Agile Technologies Group LLC.

The tribe’s Department of Justice says the company received more than $3 million for pandemic-related services but wasn’t qualified.

Kirk’s attorney, David Jordan, said Monday he hasn’t seen the latest complaints and declined to comment. He previously said Kirk did nothing wrong and was protecting essential workers in her office.