January 12, 2024
Dear Tribal Leader:
We hope this letter finds you well. This correspondence is based on our records that indicate your Tribal casino(s) and/or the Tribal Gaming Regulatory Authority (TGRA) has issued a manual check payment to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). According to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), there has been an increase in mail theft and stolen check fraud across the country this past year. The Commission has become aware of incidents involving check payments issued by Tribes, so we are reaching out to provide recommended increased security measures.
The Commission encourages the use of the PAY.gov online payment system as a secure payment option that can be used for all payments to NIGC. Should the Tribe, its operation(s) and/or TGRA choose to continue issuing manual checks, NIGC recommends, at the minimum, using USPS confirmation services. Additionally recommended for all issued checks are the use of security envelopes without transparent windows, mailing checks only at attended mail receptacles, and conducting detailed account reconciliations to verify payment amounts.
As bad actors continue to seek new opportunities to take advantage of vulnerabilities, it has become more important to remain vigilant and flexible with our business practices and procedures to safeguard tribal assets. For questions regarding payments to NIGC, please contact us at fee.questions@nigc.gov or by phone at 202-632-7003.
Sincerely,
E. Sequoyah Simermeyer
Chairman
