I’ll have to go check the law again, but I believe there is a twist regarding racial classification. If memory serves me correctly, it is illegal for an employer or government to ask someone to ‘prove’ a minority status they list, the law allows self-identification.
Where this may work, however, is if she claimed actual tribal membership and received any benefit thereof. There is a difference between claiming minority status as a Native American and claiming membership in a specific tribe or nation.
For example, I am a member of the Pottawatomie nation and I have an identification card and letter verifying my status as a recognized Native American citizen member of that group. That is a legal membership of that nation which is a recognized entity.
That is different than just self-identifying on an application as Native-American.
A civil rights issue in my book. One that transcends statutes of limitation. How is unduly claiming and profiting from dubious civil rights minority status any different from any other civil rights crime?