How a Yurok Housing Matter Landed in Shasta County Court

A Yurok tribal member and longtime political activist, Allen Donald McCloskey has filed a petition in Shasta County Superior Court seeking to compel Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads to investigate and potentially prosecute alleged financial crimes connected to the Yurok Indian Housing Authority.

McCloskey, who has been involved in local activism for years, including healthcare union organizing and progressive political campaigns, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus* on January 4. The filing asks a judge to order Eads to investigate allegations that former Yurok Tribal Council member Sherri Provolt engaged in fraud involving the sale of a parcel of land to the housing authority using federal funds. The petition alleges the transaction was approximately $500,000 and argues the district attorney failed to act despite repeated demands.

McCloskey has been a delegate to the California Democratic Party and previously campaigned for local office. In 2019, he ran for the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors before withdrawing from the race amid public reporting of past allegations of fraud and perjury by the Lost Coast Outpost, which he disputed at the time. He has also been the subject of other legal matters that received public attention, including an arrest on suspicion of burglary in 2021 of which he was later acquitted.

In the current case, McCloskey is acting as a private citizen and tribal member seeking judicial review. The petition itself does not reflect a court ruling on the merits of the underlying allegations.

The issues in McCloskey’s filing overlap with matters previously examined by the Yurok Tribe through its internal ethics process. In 2024, the tribe’s Ethics Review Board investigated Provolt’s role in the sale of a three-acre parcel near Orick to the housing authority. According to reporting by the Times-Standard, the board reviewed hundreds of pages of documents, retained a private investigator, consulted outside legal counsel, and held a hearing. The board concluded there was merit to complaints that Provolt failed to disclose her financial interest in the property and used her official position to influence the purchase, and the Tribal Council later upheld findings of fraud, corruption of office, and misuse of position.

Provolt disputed the findings and said she would step away from her council duties. During the proceedings, she stated that she disclosed the property as belonging to her in-laws and expressed an intent to recuse herself from related decisions. According to the Ethics Review Board’s report, recusal was not required at the time because decision-makers were not aware that Provolt had a financial interest in the property or would personally benefit from the sale. The board later concluded that her failure to disclose that financial stake materially affected the process. Those tribal proceedings were administrative in nature and did not result in criminal charges.

McCloskey’s filing argues that the conduct identified by the tribe warrants criminal prosecution and that state or federal authorities have jurisdiction because the transaction involved off-reservation activity and federal funds.

After Redheaded Blackbelt contacted the district attorney’s office on Tuesday, January 6, DA Eads responded that her office has not received a referral from an investigative law enforcement agency requesting consideration of criminal charges in connection with the matter and said she could not provide additional comment to protect the integrity of any ongoing or potential investigations.

Redheaded Blackbelt will continue to follow this filing and report on any material developments.

*A writ of mandamus asks a court to determine whether a public official has failed to perform a required legal duty; it does not itself initiate a criminal investigation or determine guilt. Whether a judge will grant the writ and what steps prosecutors or law enforcement take next remains unclear.