The Miccosukee Tribe has accused former Chairman Billy Cypress of using the long-running dispute in a wrongful-death case as cover to pay lawyers Guy Lewis and Michael Tein up to $4 million in legal fees. The tribe claims in a new court filing that Cypress “diverted” those payments directly to Lewis and Tein under the “pretext” of working on general Miccosukee legal matters, without the “knowledge or consent” of the tribal government. Lewis and Tein, both former federal prosecutors, face a sanctions hearing this fall on perjury charges related to the wrongful-death case. The source of the payment to the attorneys is important because, if it came from the tribe as opposed to Tammy Gwen Billie and Jimmie Bert, the lawyers’ clients, it means there indeed was more than enough money available to pay the outstanding judgment to the victim’s family. (Read Full Article Here)