CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Chief Wahoo protester Robert Roche and the Cleveland Indians' racist logo sadly have something in common.

They both misrepresent Native Americans.

Roche, who is Chiricahua Apache Indian, has earned wide attention for demonstrating against the red-faced, big-toothed Chief Wahoo. But today, he stands accused of cheating fellow Native Americans - the very people he claimed to be trying to help with his activism.

Roche, according to a federal indictment released Wednesday, stole nearly $80,000 he secured through a federal grant earmarked for mental-health and wellness programs for Native American children and families.

My own reporting raised questions about the frailty of the American Indian Education Center that Roche ran in Parma and used to collect more than $1.4 million in government grants from 2008 through 2012. In 2012, Roche listed the center's primary activity as "providing re-entry services," and he paid himself $153,000 in salary and benefits that year, according to the center's last available tax returns.

When I questioned Roche in the past about his organization, he insisted all was good - or, when pressed for details, he said he needed to check with someone else about the organization's tax returns and documentation related to grants. (I reached Roche by phone Wednesday and he said he was unaware of the indictment and referred me to his attorney.)

But he was just blowing smoke. While claiming that millionaire sports-team owners are misappropriating Native Americans culture, Roche also was, according to the indictment, scheming with a grant writer to manipulate grant applications for his own gain.

That grant writer, Craig McGuire, pleaded guilty in April to trying to steal with Roche more than $183,000 in grant money. McGuire will most likely testify against Roche. Roche pocketed $77,097, according to prosecutors.

On behalf of the Roche's organization, McGuire applied for a "Circle of Care" grant, which was offered through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, federal documents say. Roche's application contained false statements, including a claim the center had a wellness department and a "Positive Paths" after-school program when no such department or program existed, according to the charges. Roche's application also fraudulently listed as employees people whom the center never hired and mischaracterized the description of the storefront building and its physical amenities, according to the charges.

If the charges against him are true, Roche has not only deprived Native Americans of badly needed services, he has tarnished the efforts of many Native Americans and others who are trying to rid baseball of Chief Wahoo. Roche's indictment will no doubt be used against the cause at a critical time.

Last year, the anti-Wahoo movement gained traction during the Indians appearance in the World Series, when national news organizations highlighted the logo that Indians' players wore on their uniform sleeves. The attention forced Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to talk with the Indians owners about Chief Wahoo. Manfred, who has signaled he's no fan of the logo, said in June the issue has been tabled until the end of the current season.

If convicted, Roche ought to be run out of town, right behind Chief Wahoo.