Charitable gaming at a Minot restaurant has been suspended for 90 days after an investigation and enforcement action was announced by the Attorney General’s Office against the Beulah Convention and Visitors Bureau for possible illegal use of charitable gaming funds.

The Attorney General announced the revocation of Beulah CVB’s gaming license on Monday March 2, after an investigation allegedly revealed multiple violations of state gaming laws and regulations, including misrepresentation of financial distributions, improper transfers of net proceeds and inaccurate reporting on official documents.

The Attorney General’s Office’s administrative complaint alleges the false reporting of a $277,747 as disbursed to a business which was actually directed back to the Beulah CVB; reported donations to a business that were never actually made; a conflict of interest issue involving a CVB board member, and more than $100,000 of net proceeds unlawfully used for ineligible purposes.

“Gaming organizations in North Dakota must follow strict rules, and it’s our responsibility to enforce them fairly. Unfortunately, some organizations and individuals do not take these obligations seriously, as we saw with BCVB,” Attorney General Drew Wrigley said. “Given the scope and gravity of these violations and lack of cooperation with the investigators, I have no choice but to revoke BCVB’s license and require repayment of unlawfully distributed funds. BCVB and the individuals involved will have the opportunity to respond and request a hearing if they wish.”

In addition to the revocation of Beulah CVB’s gaming license, the organization was ordered to return $392,287 in improperly expended net proceeds to its trust account and pay a $50,000 penalty to the State of North Dakota. Granville Brinkman, Losson Leonard, Marcie Krumwiede and Lindsey Bofenkamp are prohibited from participating in gaming activities. A $2,500 fine also was assessed against NumberWorks LLC.

According to a redacted version of the administrative complaint provided by the Attorney General’s office, Brinkman and Krumwiede were identified as Beulah CVB staff, while Bofenkamp was identified the de facto bookkeeper for the organization.

Leonard, also a Beulah CVB board member, was identified as the owner of Uncle Maddio’s Pizza in Minot, which was one of Beulah CVB’s gaming sites located in Minot. The Attorney General determined Leonard had a conflict of interest under the North Dakota Century Code, which prohibits lessors who are officers from participating in decision-making related to gaming.

Leonard is a board member of the CVB, served as vice chair previously, and served as a member of the subcommittee which makes determinations regarding disbursements of gaming net proceeds.

The Attorney General also identified a number of disbursements approved by the Beulah CVB board which Leonard did not recuse himself from. These included disbursements to Minot area animal rescue organizations; $5,000 to the Minot Fire Department for new medical equipment; $5,000 to the Minot Fireworks Association; $5,000 to Minot Home for the Holidays; $4,000 to local animal shelters and rescues; as well as donations to the Taube Museum of Art and $2,500 to the Minot Council for the Arts for the Union Silo painting project.

The Attorney General determined Leonard interfered with and influenced the organization’s disbursement of net proceeds while he was gaming lessor at Uncle Maddio’s, fined him $2,500 and suspended gaming at the establishment for 90 days.

According to the administrative complaint, when N.D. Attorney General gaming staff met with then Beulah CVB board member Cody Nelson on Nov. 21, 2024, Nelson said the gaming money being spent in Minot was proportional to the amount of gaming money being raised at the two Minot locations.

Other locations Beulah CVB was formerly authorized for charitable gaming included Molco Lanes/Dewey’s Lounge, Fanatics Sports Bar, Black Sands Golf Course and the Mercer County Fairgrounds, all in Beulah.