New statement from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation re: Alberta Prosperity Separatist leader Jefferey Rath who is also the lawyer/trustee for minors Cows & Plows trust fund. This is on the heels of Rath’s assets being frozen by a judge last week while he’s investigated for misallocating millions of dollars of trust funds with Tall Cree First Nation. Here is a man who is championing separatism, asking people to have confidence in him and the separatist cause, while trampling First Nations rights in the process.

Statement released today: NOTICE TO MEMBERS

Following Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s cows and ploughs settlement, the members’ per capita distributions were placed in a trust fund. The PCDs for our minors were to be held in that trust fund until our children (born by 2017) turned 18. Jeffrey RW Rath Corporation (Rath PC) is and has always been the sole trustee of these funds. This means he is responsible for holding them in trust for our children until they turn 18.

In 2024 and 2025, 18-year-old members started to report discrepancies in the PCD amounts (below the original PCD or excluding interest). We pursued a court application to remove Rath PC as trustee and for him to pass accounts. We are working to expedite this application given the discovery this week.

On July 13, 2026, we became aware of documents suggesting that Jeffrey R.W. Rath Professional Corporation, operating as Rath & Company, withdrew approximately $12 million from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s minors trust in 2023 and 2024. We discovered these documents through disclosure in the Tallcree First Nation litigation against Rath PC, reported in the media. This was the first we learned of these withdrawals.

We had not seen these before, have not seen financial statements for the minors trust since 2021 and received only financial summaries in 2022 and 2023. We have no records for 2024, 2025 and 2026. We have requested financial statements since 2021. We have not received a response.

We are deeply concerned about these withdrawals. We are taking all steps possible to protect the trust money and track, trace and secure any illegal withdrawal from the trust.

Finally, some members have reported that Rath & Company has advised that the Nation has the trust money. This is incorrect. Rath PC remains the sole trustee, at present, of the minors trust fund.

On June 26, following similar discoveries, Tallcree First Nation obtained a court order removing Rath PC as the trustee on their Nation’s trust. On July 10 and July 15, they received and extended a Mareva order to freeze Rath’s assets up to $15 million (the amount said to be withdrawn from their trust) and, on June 15, Tallcree received a receivership order which appoints a receiver to track and trace these funds.

We would like to assure our members that we have watched these developments carefully and are acting accordingly. We will update members as soon as we can in the circumstances.

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Leadership.