The Kayenta Township
P.O. Box 1490
Kayenta, AZ 86033
(928) 697-8451
www.kayentatownship-nsn.gov
PRESS RELEASE
June 28, 2024
On June 21, 2024, the Honorable Judge Stover of the District Court of the Navajo Nation, Judicial District of Kayenta, entered a Stipulation and Order of Settlement [live link] and a Consent Judgment [live link] in Kayenta Township Commission v. Andre Cordero, et al., Consolidated Cases Nos. KY-CV-100-2016 and KY-CV-017-2019.
As stated in the Stipulation and Order of Settlement, Mr. Cordero was Town Manager of the Kayenta Township from August 2011 until January 2015. During that time, Mr. Cordero and his co-conspirators stole $401,620, in violation of Mr. Cordero’s sacred duty to the public trust and to the Navajo people as a Naat’áanii for the community.
As elected officials, the Commission takes seriously its duty to safeguard public funds and has pursued justice against Mr. Cordero in the Nation’s courts since filing the first lawsuit in 2016. Based on the Stipulation and Order of Settlement, in which Cordero admitted to his central role in the theft, the Court entered judgment in favor of the Kayenta Township Commission and against Mr. Cordero for compensatory damages, punitive damages, accountant’s fees, and attorneys’ fees, for a total award against Mr. Cordero of $2,173,357, substantially the amount that the Commission would have sought to recover if the cases had gone to trial on June 27 and 28, 2024 as scheduled. Other defendants cooperated and settled with the Commission separately.
“The violations of trust that were committed against the Kayenta community were egregious, and justice, although delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has finally been served,” said Commission Chairman Ed Seaton. “Most critically,” Chairman Seaton added, “the disharmony caused by the betrayal of a community Naat’áanii has been resolved by the Nation’s courts, and the community can now heal. Hóchxǫ’ ntéé, k’ad t’éiyá hózhǫ́ náhásdlį́į́’.”
The Commission thanks its lawyers, Kelly & Associates, PC, for achieving this victory for the community of Kayenta.
