District of Montana

GREAT FALLS—U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced today that Michael Christopher Laird, 26, of California, was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison and five years supervised release for conviction on methamphetamine charges.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at the hearing.

Laird pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 to possession with intent to distribute meth.

An investigation began in March when Great Falls Police officers responded to a local business for a shoplifting call in which Laird was present with a suspect. Information from cell phone text messages and other evidence showed that Laird was involved in sending meth to Great Falls and wiring money to California. A Great Falls resident claimed Laird and another person broke into his home looking for a package of meth and threatened to attack him with a machete if he didn’t get the package. The resident gave Laird the package.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Russell Country Drug Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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BILLINGS – A federal judge sentenced Billings resident Nichole Renee Waldhalm today to five years in prison and five years supervised release for her conviction in a conspiracy that brought meth from California to the Billings area for distribution, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the sentencing.

Waldhalm, 40, pleaded guilty on July 19 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth.

In October 2017, drug task force officers received information that Waldhalm was distributing meth she had received from California. Investigators worked with a confidential informant, who made a series of meth buys ranging from a quarter ounce to a half ounce of meth from Waldhalm. In December, Waldhalm was arrested by the Montana Highway Patrol and was found to be in possession of an ounce of meth, an ounce of cocaine and a stolen firearm.

Waldhalm admitted to law enforcement she had been selling meth since October 2016 and that in September 2017, she and a co-defendant brought between two to four ounces of meth from California to Montana.

The conspiracy involved more than 50 grams of actual meth. The amount is the equivalent of about 400 doses. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and Billings Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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GREAT FALLS – U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced that on Monday, Cirilo Marcial-Ramirez, a Mexico citizen from Oaxaca, was sentenced to 174 days of time served and to one year of supervised release for conviction of illegal re-entry.

District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at the hearing.

Ramirez, 34, pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 29.

An investigation began in September 2017 when Great Falls Police Department officers contacted Ramirez regarding a traffic accident and arrested him for traffic offenses. Ramirez gave a false name and birth date, but investigators identified Ramirez through fingerprints. Ramirez had been deported from the United States in February 2010 after being convicted of felony and misdemeanor offenses in Kansas. He did not have permission as required by statute to re-enter the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Great Falls Police Department and Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan in Billings. Indictments handed down by the Grand Jury were unsealed. Indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

CHARLES EUGENE VENDITTI, 41, of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious charge, the defendant faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Pacer case reference. 18-147

DAVID CHARLES SPENCER, 45, of Billings, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute meth, distribution of meth, use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in a school zone. If convicted of the most serious drug charge, the defendant faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years supervised release. If convicted of the most serious firearms charge, the defendant faces a minimum mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pacer case reference. 18-144

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned before U.S. magistrate judges this week. Indictments handed down by the Grand Jury were unsealed. Indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan in Billings on Nov. 20 and entering Not Guilty pleas were:

ARLYN JUAN CASTRO, 35, of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, appeared on charges of failing to register as a sex offender. If convicted of the most serious charge, the defendant faces a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Pacer case reference. 18-133

EUGENE MAJOR BIGBACK, JR., 59, of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, appeared on charges of failing to register as a sex offender. If convicted of the most serious charge, the defendant faces a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Pacer case reference. 18-132

RENIE RAYMOND JOSEPH FILLION, 34, of Livingston, appeared on charges of distribution of methamphetamine, receipt of a firearm while under indictment and possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted of the most serious charge, the defendant faces a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pacer case reference. 18-134   

FRANCISCO MORALES, 44, of Lubbock, Texas, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine for distribution and possession of meth for distribution. If convicted of the most serious charge, the defendant faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Pacer case reference. 18-139

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

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MISSOULA—Bozeman resident Sean O’Neal Carr was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Nov. 16 for illegal firearms possession, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced.

Carr, 42, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on Aug. 7.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided at the hearing.

An investigation found that Carr, having been convicted of felony drug possession in Montana, possessed a 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Aug. 29, 2017 in Bozeman. Law enforcement arrested Carr after a Bozeman Police officer offered to help Carr and a woman who had been locked out of a vehicle.

As the officer approached, he noticed that Carr was openly carrying a pistol on his hip. Carr used a homemade tool to open the vehicle door and the woman left. When the officer spoke to Carr, he noticed Carr was fidgeting and seemed uncomfortable and that his behavior was similar to those he had seen on methamphetamine. The officer detained Carr after he identified himself and told the officer he was on probation. The officer took possession of the gun, which was loaded with a full magazine and had a round in the chamber.

Carr told law enforcement later that the firearm was a birthday present and that he’d had it for about a month.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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BILLINGS—U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced today that Billings resident Robert John Bigback was sentenced on Tuesday to five years in prison and five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine.

Bigback, 23, pleaded guilty on July 16, 2018 to two counts of distribution of meth.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided at sentencing.

After receiving information about meth for sale in April 2017, the FBI drug task force used a confidential informant to buy meth from a co-defendant at a hardware store in the Billings Heights. After the co-defendant counted the money, Bigback gave the informant the meth. Another meth sale was arranged a few days later and occurred at Rimrock Mall, where Bigback conducted the sale in the bathroom of a department store. The two sales involved about 20 grams of pure meth, which is the equivalent of about 160 individual doses and has a street value of about $2,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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BILLNGS—Billings resident Austin Lee Lamb was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for conviction of theft and possessing stolen firearms after a pawn shop burglary, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided at the hearing. Judge Watters also ordered Lamb to pay $650 restitution and imposed three years supervised release.

Lamb, 19, pleaded guilty on June 26 to theft from a federally licensed firearms dealer and to possession of stolen firearms.

An investigation into a burglary at Northwest Pawn & Gun in Billings on April 13, 2017 led to Lamb. A surveillance video showed three individuals attempting to break into the business and eventually Lamb pried open a door. All three persons entered. Lamb was convicted of having possessed a stolen semi-automatic pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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BILLNGS—U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced today that Lance X. Ratcliff, a Billings resident, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison and three years supervised release for illegally possessing a shotgun that was found between the mattress and box spring of his bed.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at sentencing.

Ratcliff pleaded guilty in June to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

The investigation began in March 2018 after Ratcliff provided a urine sample to the Montana Department of Corrections, Billings Probation and Parole Office as part of conditions of supervision in a Wyoming case. Ratcliff had been convicted of felony possession of cocaine in Wyoming in 2017. The drug test result was positive, which led to a search of Ratcliff’s residence.

During the search, law enforcement officers recovered a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, which was loaded with five rounds of ammunition, from between the mattress and box spring of the bed in Ratcliff’s bedroom. Officers also recovered a box of 12 gauge shotgun ammunition from a closet. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that the shotgun had been stolen from a Billings resident in April 2014.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Godfrey prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the ATF.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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MISSOULA – U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced that Missoula resident William Dale Newhoff, Jr. was sentenced on Nov. 16, 2018 to a total of 69 months in prison for probation and firearms violations after law enforcement officers arrested him following a high-speed chase.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Newhoff, 36, to 51 months and to three years supervised release for his conviction on being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Judge Christensen ordered the sentence to be consecutive to an 18-month prison sentenced imposed earlier in the day by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy.

Judge Molloy sentenced Newhoff to 18 months in prison after he revoked Newhoff’s supervised release in two earlier cases in which he was convicted of two firearms violations in one case and of escape in a second case.

In January 2018, Newhoff was a federal fugitive. The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office located Newhoff in East Missoula on Jan. 30, 2018 and notified the U.S. Marshal’s Service. After a high-speed chase and extensive search, law enforcement officers arrested Newhoff in a trailer house in Missoula County. When officers found Newhoff standing behind a door, he was holding a 9mm pistol and had ammunition in his jacket pocket.  He was arrested without incident.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson prosecuted the firearms case, which was investigated by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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MISSOULA – The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Pharmacy and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have reached an agreement settling alleged pharmacy violations in which the pharmacy will pay a $95,520 civil penalty and take other steps to ensure compliance with federal law and Drug Enforcement Administration regulations, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced.

The settlement agreement is the result of an inspection by the DEA for activity from March 2017 to March 2018.  The DEA has the responsibility to inspect pharmacies or medical providers that dispense controlled substances to ensure they are complying with federal regulations.  The regulations are designed to prevent the theft or diversion of controlled substances to unauthorized users.

The DEA conducted the inspection after it learned that approximately 2,500 oxycodone pills had been stolen or unaccounted for from the Tribes’ pharmacy in St. Ignatius, on the Flathead Indian Reservation.  During the investigation, the DEA discovered significant violations of the regulations, including failing to adequately track records of the controlled substances in the pharmacy and failing to report the missing oxycodone pills to the DEA.

In addition to the $95,520 penalty, the pharmacy also must take numerous measures to ensure compliance in the future. The pharmacy must conduct annual evaluations of its compliance for three years and certify to the DEA that it is meeting all regulatory requirements. If it has future violations, the pharmacy will be subject to a judgment for the full potential penalty of $240,640 for the alleged violations. 

“This settlement is an important step toward ensuring that opioids are properly controlled in the CSKT Pharmacy,” said U.S. Attorney Alme. “For the safety of the community, we need to ensure that the pharmacy is managed responsibly in the future. The penalty puts every pharmacy in Montana on notice that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and DEA will vigorously enforce controlled substance regulations to prevent diversion of the prescription opioids that are harming our communities.”

 “We appreciate the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes taking this issue seriously.  It is our hope that this settlement and the tribe’s plan to bring the pharmacy into compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations requirements will prevent future diversion of controlled substances,” said Stacy Zinn-Brittain, DEA regional agent in charge for Montana.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Dishong worked on the settlement agreement. The DEA’s Western Montana Tactical Diversion Squad investigated the case.

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MISSOULA—Two operators of USA Brass, Inc., a former Bozeman company that cleaned and recycled spent ammunition casings, were sentenced this week in U.S. District Court after they admitted to illegal discharges of lead contaminated water into a public sewer system, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen on Thursday sentenced Zachary Daniel Flanagan, 27, of Bozeman, to five years of probation and imposed a $50,000 fine.

On Friday, the judge sentenced co-defendant Nolan Michael Schimpf, 27, of Bozeman, to five years of probation and imposed a $50,000 fine.

Flanagan, the chief executive officer, pleaded guilty on Aug. 9, 2018 to making a false statement, a felony, while Schimpf, the company’s chief production officer, pleaded guilty the same day to negligent discharge of pollutants, a misdemeanor.

“The defendants violated the city’s wastewater pretreatment program when they discharged lead contaminated wastewater into the public sewer system,” said Jeffrey Martinez, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigative Division in Montana.

“Defendant Flanagan falsified information to obtain permission for the discharges, and in doing so jeopardized the public’s health and safety. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that violators can expect to face prosecution,” Martinez said.

An investigation found illegal discharges into the City of Bozeman’s public wastewater treatment system occurred in the fall of 2013. USA Brass brought in spent ammunition casings from military bases, shooting ranges and recycling centers, cleaned and polished the brass casings and then sold them for reuse. The casings were placed in cement mixers where they were cleaned in a water and vinegar solution. After cleaning, the wastewater was drained from the cement mixers and collected in blue totes, which held about 300 gallons each. During the cleaning process, the wastewater became contaminated with lead, which is a toxic metal. The lead in the wastewater was high enough to be considered a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.

In November 2013, Flanagan contacted by email Dustin Johnson, the pretreatment coordinator of the Bozeman wastewater facility, to try to get permission for USA Brass to discharge lead wastewater into the city sewer system. Johnson told Flanagan he would have to get the wastewater analyzed and submit test results. Flanagan submitted lab test results and a signed wastewater survey in which he maintained the information about the cleaning process was true and accurate. Flanagan asked to dispose of the wastewater through the sewer saying it met all city standards.

Flanagan followed up the request in December with another email to Johnson seeking approval to dispose the wastewater through the sewer and told him that an environmental analyst who reviewed the lab results said it would be fine to send the wastewater down the sewer.

However, Flanagan’s statements to Johnson were false because he knew that an environmental consultant had not reviewed the lab results and concluded the wastewater would be fine for discharge to the public system.

On the same day in December, Johnson responded to Flanagan’s email and, based on Flanagan’s false statements, authorized the discharge of the lead wastewater into the sewer system.

When Johnson learned that Flanagan had provided him false information, he told investigators he would never have granted the company permission to discharge the wastewater.

The investigation also found that in September 2013, USA Brass installed a sink in the facility to dispose of the lead wastewater into the city sewer system. Employees reported that the blue totes containing the wastewater were moved to the sink on a forklift and the contents were pumped into the sink until the totes were empty. A filtration system was abandoned after a few days because it got clogged.

Flanagan and Schimpf were present on more than one occasion as the wastewater was being pumped down the sink but neither stopped the discharge or sought permission for the discharge.

By being present and doing nothing to stop the unauthorized discharges, Schimpf negligently causing the wastewater to be discharged.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Whittaker and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric E. Nelson and investigated by the EPA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot represented the U.S. Attorney’s Office at sentencing.

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BILLINGS—A Minnesota couple admitted on Thursday in U.S. District Court to possessing for distribution nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana in their recreational vehicle after getting arrested in Miles City, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Steven Thomas Robinson, 59, and his wife, Vicki Lynn Robinson, 59, of Milaca, Minn., each pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. The maximum penalty is a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and four years supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the hearing.

On Aug. 30, 2017, the Montana Highway Patrol’s Eastern Montana Interdiction Task Force received information from a Minnesota drug task force that an RV was transporting a large quantity of marijuana from California to Minnesota. The Montana Highway Patrol located the RV in a Walmart parking lot in Miles City and began surveilling the vehicle. The RV left the parking lot and stopped at the Gold Dust Casino parking lot. Officers saw two occupants of the RV leave the casino and head to the RV. The officers approached and began talking to the couple, identified as the Robinsons. 

When the officers asked for license and registration documents, Vicki Robinson said the registration was in the RV. When she opened the door, officers smelled a strong order of raw marijuana. A police K-9 then alerted to the vehicle.

Steven Robinson agreed to speak with officers and admitted there was about 800 pounds of marijuana in the RV and that he was transporting it. He told officers he had delivered before and was paid $20,000. He also consented to a search of the RV and his cell phone. Officers found about 960 pounds of marijuana.

Judge Watters set sentencing for March 14 in Billings. The couple was released.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Godfrey prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana Interdiction Task Force.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate judges and indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed. Indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate John T. Johnston in Great Falls on Nov. 14, 2018 and entering a Not Guilty plea was:

AARON JAMES PEPION, 38, of Browning, appeared on charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious charge in the indictment, Pepion faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release. The case was investigated by the FBI and Blackfeet Tribal law enforcement. Pacer case reference. 18-92

Appearing on Nov. 15 and entering a Not Guilty plea was:

KRIS DALE HARDING, 47, of Sun Prairie, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute explosives without a license, possession of stolen explosives and prohibited person in possession of explosives. If convicted of the most serious charge, Harding faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Russell Country Drug Task Force. Pacer case reference. 18-90

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan in Billings on Nov. 13 and entering a Not Guilty plea was:

JENICA D. PASSES, 30, of Crow Agency, appeared on charges of theft of government property and misappropriation of postal funds. If convicted of the most serious charge in the indictment, Passes faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service. Pacer case reference. 18-127

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

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HELENA—U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced today that Katherine Marie Krieger, a Helena resident, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, three years supervised release and ordered to pay $236,924.17 restitution for stealing a person’s personal identity and using it to embezzle money from an investment account.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided at the sentencing.

Krieger, 30, also known as Katherine Marie Waayenberg, pleaded guilty on Sept. 11 to wire fraud and to aggravated identity theft as part of plea agreement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot said the embezzlement scheme ran from February 2015 to August 2015. Krieger, and her then-husband, had moved from Michigan to Montana in 2010 so her husband could work for a company in Helena. Krieger befriended the owners of the company and then started embezzling from their Edward Jones investment account.

During the embezzlement, Krieger made 58 payments to her Capital One credit card account using money from the victims’ Edward Jones account. The total loss associated with the Edward Jones transactions was $109,138.49, but Krieger agreed to pay more for losses associated with her scheme.

When questioned about the theft in August 2015, Krieger claimed her mail had been stolen, including a check she had received for babysitting services from the victims. She also claimed she thought her identity had been stolen and that the perpetrator must have used the victims’ Edward Jones account number – obtained from the babysitting check – to make the Capital One credit card payments. And she claimed she thought the perpetrator who stole her identity must have obtained that credit card without her knowledge.

The investigation, however, found that Krieger had deposited the babysitting check into her personal bank account and that the Capital One credit card charges were for goods and services she received.

AUSA Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Lewis and Clark Sheriff’s Office.

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HELENA-- Deer Lodge resident Rex Thomas Kendall, who admitted to possessing child pornography, was sentenced on Thursday to 35 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided at sentencing.

Kendall, 62, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2018 to possessing child porn.

An investigation began in November 2017 after the editor of the Silver State Post, which contracted with Kendall to write stories, found child porn images on a thumb drive Kendall used to submit stories to the newspaper. The editor had provided Kendall the thumb drive several months earlier. The editor had assigned Kendall two stories, which he submitted for review on the device. The editor reviewed the stories then found the child porn images when he decided to clean up the thumb drive for Kendall.

The next day, Kendall left his personal laptop in his work area at the Post’s offices. Newspaper officials, who had delivered the thumb drive to law enforcement, also turned over the laptop to investigators.

After getting search warrants, FBI investigators examined the laptop and thumb drive and found numerous images of child porn. The investigation also determined that Kendall would use the newspaper’s internet service for personal matters and that it was not unusual for him to be at the office late in the evenings or on weekends.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Powell County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and FBI.

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BILLINGS – A California man who admitted being part of an organization that brought multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine to the Billings area and Crow Indian Reservation was sentenced on Thursday to eight years in prison and five years supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the sentencing of Miguel Morales, 27, of San Jose, who pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute meth.

In the summer of 2015, law enforcement officers began investigating a drug trafficking organization in which men from San Jose, Calif., were bringing multi-pound quantities of meth Montana for distribution. The investigation found that Morales worked with the organization and in 2016 was in Billings and Crow Agency to distribute meth to others and to collect money.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI task force and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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MISSOULA—A man who admitted bringing methamphetamine to Kalispell for distribution was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Christopher George Nomura, 35, of Corona, Ca., to five years for conviction on possession with intent to distribute meth, a consecutive five years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and to five years supervised release.

Nomura pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 1, 2018.

Law enforcement officers arrested Nomura at a Kalispell hotel in February 2016 after a confidential informant bought meth from Nomura’s codefendant. The codefendant told investigators he drove with Nomura to Kalispell and that Nomura had brought meth to sell. When agents arrested Nomura, they found two pistols and a baggie of meth on his person.

Nomura admitted to agents he and his codefendant drove from California in early 2016 with about a pound of meth to distribute and that he had returned to California and got more meth for distribution in Kalispell.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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MISSOULA—U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced that Jennifer Lynn Marshall, of Butte, was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years in prison for conspiracy and firearms convictions in a methamphetamine trafficking case.

Marshall, 43, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided at the hearing and imposed three years in prison for the drug crime and an additional five years in prison for the firearms violation.

An investigation into meth trafficking found that Marshall sold one ounce of pure meth to a confidential informant in May 2016 and later that month left with an informant to drive to California to buy four pounds of meth. However, Marshall was stopped and arrested in Dillon while traveling to California and was found to have $12,000 and a .380 caliber handgun in her possession.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Missouri River Drug Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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HELENA—A Vaughn woman who admitted to pulling a gun on a driver, who had given her a ride, and ordering the victim and two others out of the vehicle, was sentenced to 14 years prison on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell sentenced Sidney Rae Aimsback, 30, to seven years in prison for conviction on carjacking and to seven more years for brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Aimsback pleaded guilty to the two crimes in May.

The investigation determined that on Nov. 28, 2017 in Helena, Aimsback approached three people, borrowed a cell phone and asked for a ride to a restaurant near Interstate 15. The victim drove her Mitsubishi Outlander, while Aimsback sat in the front passenger seat and the victim’s two friends sat in the back seat. Aimsback persuaded the victim to drive to a nearby housing development, saying her sister lived there.

While stopped at an intersection near the housing development, Aimsback pulled out a gun from near her waistband, pointed it at the victim and told her and the two other passengers to get out of the vehicle. The victim and passengers complied. The three ran up to a carpenter at a building site.

Law enforcement officers arrested Aimsback near Three Forks. The victim consented to a search of the vehicle, and officers found a 9 mm pistol and two magazines of ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Lewis and Clark and Gallatin County sheriff’s offices, the Helena Police Department and the Montana Highway Patrol.

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HELENA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hosted a roundtable today for community organizations to discuss the problem of sexual harassment in housing, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme announced.

The event, held at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, included legal aid offices, fair housing organizations, and shelters and transitional housing providers. Those organizations were invited because they often work with vulnerable populations who are most likely to become victims of sexual harassment in housing.

 “Sexual harassment in housing is an egregious violation of a person’s right to fair housing,” U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. “Landlords using the power they have over tenants to extort sexual favors, or even commit assaults, is intolerable. Our office is dedicated to uncovering such violations where they exist and vigorously enforcing the law.”

The Department of Justice, through the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Civil Rights Division, enforces the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Act.

In October 2017, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced the Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, an effort to combat sexual harassment in housing.

On April 12, 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the nationwide expansion of that initiative and the formation of a joint task force with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to address this issue.

The initiative seeks to identify barriers to reporting sexual harassment in housing, increase awareness of the department’s enforcement efforts – both among survivors and those they may report to – and collaborate with federal, state, and local partners to increase reporting and help survivors quickly and easily connect with federal resources.

In the first year of the initiative’s launch, the Justice Department has opened 34 new sexual harassment matters, which is more than any previous year and nearly five times the number of matters opened in the prior year. In addition, the department has filed six lawsuits in alleged sexual harassment in housing cases, which is more than the department has filed in any previous year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with the Civil Rights Division to spread the word in Montana about options to help victims experiencing sexual harassment or who experienced sexual harassment in housing in the past.

 Roundtable discussions like the one that U.S. Attorney Alme hosted today are one way to increase awareness and build strong partnerships in the community to combat this problem together.

Community organizations, such as local law enforcement, legal aid offices, fair housing organizations, shelters, and transitional housing providers, can identify the misconduct and recommend that victims report sexual harassment to the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In addition, local police departments or legal aid offices may be able to help victims, if the behavior is a crime or if there is an imminent eviction.

While most people are familiar with the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, harassment also occurs in housing, and the Fair Housing Act prohibits it. The Justice Department brings cases each year involving egregious conduct, including allegations that defendants have exposed themselves sexually to current or prospective tenants, requested sexual favors in exchange for reduced rents or making necessary repairs, made unrelenting and unwanted sexual advances to tenants, and evicted tenants who resisted their sexual overtures.

Many instances of sexual harassment in housing continue to go unreported. The Justice Department’s investigations frequently uncover sexual harassment that has been ongoing for years or decades and identify numerous victims who never reported the conduct to federal authorities.

The Department encourages anyone who has experienced sexual harassment in housing, or knows someone who has, to contact the Civil Rights Division by calling 1 (844) 380-6178 or emailing fairhousing@usdoj.gov. For more information, visit https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-reports-major-increases-victim-reporting-and-number-lawsuits-filed-one.

Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may also file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office at United States Attorney’s Office, 2601 Second Avenue N., Suite 3200, Billings, MT 59101 c/o AUSA Brendan McCarthy, or contact AUSA McCarthy by phone – 406-247-4656 or email – brendan.mccarthy@usdoj.gov.  Individuals also my contact the FBI.

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          The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the Guardians Project, a task force to fight federal program fraud, is providing grant administration training to Montana’s Native American community and will be in Harlem on Nov. 19.

The Harlem training will start at 10 a.m. in the Planning Department Conference Room. The session is open to the public.

The Guardians Project joins federal agencies together to prosecute those attempting to take federal funds for private gain.  The agencies include the U.S. Attorney’s Office, several Offices of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

Since 2013, the project has resulted in more than 100 felony convictions, more than $15 million in restitution, more than $3.5 million in fines and a $1 million civil judgment.  Prosecuted crimes include conspiracy, bribery, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, obstruction of justice, money laundering, blackmail, and tax evasion. 

The Guardians Project is reaching out to the communities to train individuals working with federal grants and funding. These trainings are presented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon, and Christopher Wood, a special agent with the Department of Interior, Office of Inspector General. 

In the past several months, trainings have been provided in Browning, Poplar, Box Elder, Lame Deer, Crow Agency and Harlem.  

U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said, “We are committed to ensuring that federal funds are used for their intended purpose for the benefit of all of the intended recipients. However, we want to ensure that those who work with federal grants are trained on how to handle them correctly, and those who discover misuse know how to report such misuse and be protected under whistleblower statutes.”

 “When misuses are discovered, they will continue to be investigated by the Guardians Project and prosecuted by our office,” Alme said. 

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BILLINGS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Blackfeet Nation announced that nearly $500,000 in U.S. Department of Justice funding has been awarded to the tribe, based in Browning, to assist with violent crime prosecutions in tribal court and in U.S. District Court.

The DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the tribe $499,774 as part of the Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorney Program. The funding will be used to hire a tribal prosecutor, who also will be designated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. The prosecutor, who will be required to be a law-trained attorney, will be able to work not only in tribal court but also present major criminal cases in federal court under the direction of U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The grant will assist the Blackfeet tribe’s current prosecution program.

Blackfeet Chairman Timothy F. Davis said, “This opportunity and much needed funding provided through the DOJ provides our Tribal Courts prosecution division with a professionally trained attorney who will assure timely prosecution of violent crime in Tribal Court and assist in bringing serious crimes into federal court. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to improving public safety for the people of the Blackfeet Nations.”

U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, “The grant will help the Blackfeet Tribe increase the prosecution of violent offenses in tribal court and assist in bringing serious crimes into federal court. The program will help reduce violent crime, including drug-related activity, and improve public safety. We look forward to continuing to work with the tribal prosecutor’s office to ensure public safety on the reservation.”  

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GREAT FALLS—The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Lothar Konrad Krauth, 80, of Great Falls, appeared on a criminal complaint before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston on charges of receipt of child pornography.

The complaint alleges the crime occurred from about Oct. 26, 2017 to Oct. 26, 2018 in Cascade County.

The complaint is merely an accusation and Krauth is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If indicted and convicted of the charge in the complaint, Krauth faces a minimum mandatory five years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.

Johnston ordered Krauth detained pending a detention hearing set for Nov. 14.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. PACER Case Reference. MJ 18-76-GF-JTJ

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BILLINGS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Donald E. Wood, Jr., of Baker, and his trucking company, Woody’s Trucking LLC, were sentenced in U.S. District Court for convictions on multiple charges stemming from a 2012 explosion at an oil and gas processing facility in Wibaux, Montana.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters sentenced Wood, 57, to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release.  Watters sentenced Woody’s Trucking to four years of probation.

Watters also ordered forfeiture of a personal money judgment of $644,689.70 and ordered restitution of $644,689.70. The monetary penalties total $1,289,370.40 to be paid by Wood and Woody’s Trucking.

A federal jury convicted Wood and his company on 13 of 14 counts after an eight day trial in May. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and hazardous materials shipping paper and placarding violations. The one count of acquittal related to a placarding violation.

In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake said the case was about Wood “engaging in deceitful, fraudulent and dangerous conduct, manipulating his otherwise legitimate business practices, in order to line his own pockets.”

The case arose after a December 29, 2012 explosion at Custom Carbon Processing, Inc.’s facility in Wibaux, in which three employees were seriously injured. A driver for Woody’s Trucking had loaded natural gas condensate, or “drip gas,” from a pipeline station in Watford City, N.D., and hauled it to Custom Carbon Processing, a facility that processes and recycles slop oil.

Previous bills of lading that accompanied Woody’s shipments falsely identified the product as “slop oil and water,” which is a non-hazardous substance. On the date of the explosion, the driver was pumping from the truck’s front tank into the CCP facility, when flammable vapors from the drip gas ignited and caused an explosion, injuring three employees. The tanks on the truck burned for eight days. It was determined later that the truck contained drip gas and not slop oil and water. Drip gas is a hazardous material and the truck was not placarded to indicate it held a flammable liquid.

Witnesses at trial testified that Wood, the CEO of the trucking company, directed the driver to place a falsified bill of lading in the burned out truck several days after the explosion. The reason was to cover up the fact that the company was hauling drip gas without placards. The false bill of lading also was submitted to the company’s insurance company and to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In addition, the company had no insurance coverage for hauling drip gas.

Later, employees of the burned facility sued Woody’s Trucking, the owners of the CCP facility and others for negligence in a civil action. Woody’s submitted the lawsuit to its insurance company for payment of costs, attorney fees and payment of the eventual settlements to the injured workers. The insurance company agreed to settle the claims, but always maintained that Woody’s Trucking failed to disclose that it was transporting hazardous materials.

The insurance company made coverage related payments after the explosion on behalf of Woody’s Trucking. The company paid $644,689.70 for costs and fees associated with the explosion.

U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, “The defendants in this case cut corners to get ahead, and in doing so, endangered lives. For the safety of our citizens, this conduct cannot be permitted. I want to thank the prosecution team and the representatives from the Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor that coordinated on this important investigation.”

“We believe today’s sentencing sends a strong message to those responsible for properly handling and transporting hazardous material,” said Jeffrey Dubsick, Regional Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. “Working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue our vigorous efforts to protect against those who would risk the safety of the public and the environment for personal gain.”

Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said, “The defendants in this case not only violated federal transportation regulations, but also tried to cover up their actions by providing first responders with falsified documents. Companies managing hazardous chemicals should take notice that EPA and our law enforcement partners will enforce laws designed to protect our communities and the environment from chemical accidents.”

Rita Lucero, regional administrator for OSHA’s Region VIII, said, “OSHA is very appreciative of the prosecution brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office in this case. OSHA, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency will continue working together to bring employers to justice when they jeopardize the health and safety of their employees.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake represented the U.S. Attorney’s Office at sentencing. Assistant U. S. Attorney Adam Duerk and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Nelson of the EPA tried the case.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

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GREAT FALLS – Washington resident Christopher Craig Johnson, 36, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release today for his conviction of possessing heroin for distribution.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at the hearing.

Johnson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Law enforcement officers arrested Johnson after a car crash in July 2015 in Great Falls in which Johnson and another person fled the scene. A passenger at the scene told officers that the vehicle belonged to Johnson, that he had brought methamphetamine and heroin from Washington on the trip and had the drugs when they arrived in Great Falls. Johnson had sold some of the meth in town and had planned to go to Browning to distribute drugs but got into the crash.

Further investigation led to Johnson’s arrest. A search warrant led to the seizure of meth and a small amount of heroin from his Great Falls residence. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant on Johnson’s wrecked vehicle and seized heroin. A Drug Enforcement Administration lab determined the drugs seized totaled 82.8 grams of pure meth and 18.17 grams of heroin.

In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley said Johnson was a serious danger to the community and that he had at least 10 prior felony convictions, including holding up individuals at gunpoint during a robbery and drug distribution and possession offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Russell Country Drug Task Force.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana.  A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime.  Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

 XXX

GREAT FALLS—A Poplar couple who admitted assault charges for driving a vehicle into a group of pedestrians, seriously injuring one, in a drug debt dispute were sentenced to years in federal prison this week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris sentenced Ashley Nicole Vondall, 26, on Wednesday to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Morris sentenced co-defendant Jonathan Damstrom Cantrell, 33, on Thursday to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Vondall and Cantrell each pleaded guilty in July to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley said in court records that the assault occurred on Oct. 24, 2017 as Cantrell and his girlfriend, Vondall, were drinking and driving around Poplar, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Cantrell was driving a Jeep, while Vondall sat in the front passenger seat. Vondall told investigators she had consumed 14 to 16 cans of Mike’s Harder Lemonade that day.

Vondall had previously been in a dispute regarding a $100 drug debt for methamphetamine with one of the pedestrians in the group.

While driving around Poplar, Cantrell and Vondall saw a group of five people walking down the street, including the person involved in the drug debt dispute. Cantrell stopped the Jeep, Vondall got out and then engaged in a fight with the group. Vondall got back into the Jeep and Cantrell turned the vehicle around.

Witness interviews revealed that Vondall yelled, “Hit them bitches!” and Cantrell plowed through the group with Jeep. A video recording from a nearby surveillance camera showed the Jeep drove straight at the group. Upon impact, bodies flew into the air before hitting the ground. One victim remained motionless in the street. The Jeep flipped onto its top, and Vondall and Cantrell took off running.

The victim was taken by ambulance to the local hospital and then flown to Billings for further treatment. The victim suffered a head injury, collapsed lung and multiple other injuries and fractures.

Two others in the group were treated for injuries at the hospital and released.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Fort Peck Criminal Investigations.

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GREAT FALLS—Great Falls resident Martin Phillip Rose, who was convicted in a counterfeiting scheme, was sentenced on Thursday to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at the hearing.

Rose, 44, pleaded guilty in July to aiding and abetting counterfeiting obligations or securities of the United States.

The investigation began in 2017 when a significant amount of counterfeit money began circulating through out Great Falls. In July 2017, Rose passed a fake $50 bill at a local business and was arrested. Following Rose’s arrest, investigators continued receiving information that Rose was making counterfeit $50 bills by taking legitimate $10 bills, washing them with chemicals and re-printing them as $50 bills.

Rose acknowledged to investigators he had run short on money and started making counterfeit bills.

Investigators identified 51 victims of Rose’s counterfeit scheme.

In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley said Rose was sentenced in 2012 in federal court in Montana on a previous counterfeiting crime.

Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Great Falls Police Department.

XXX

BILLINGS – The U.S. Attorney’s office announced today that on Nov. 2, Donald Friedlich Mills, III, a nurse who admitted stealing fentanyl, a highly addictive and dangerous synthetic opioid pain reliever, for his own use, was sentenced to a five-year term of probation with six months in home confinement.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the hearing.

Mills, 33, of Billings, pleaded guilty on May 22 to tampering with consumer products and to acquiring fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery and deception. There was no plea agreement.

The investigation began on March 21, 2017, when the Billings Clinic, where Mills worked, notified the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that it had lost 200 mL of fentanyl from employee pilferage. In a recorded interview with DEA on March 28, 2017, Mills, after being advised of his rights, said he had neck pain and anxiety and thought he could self-medicate through injections.

Mill told law enforcement officers he started taking fentanyl and replacing it with saline beginning in February 2017 and ending on March 13, 2017, when he was confronted about discrepancies.

Mills further told officers that he would divert fentanyl most times that he worked, remove the fentanyl from the vials and replace it with saline. He said that if the case was his, he made sure the patients got a full vial along with whatever he had switched.

DEA took into evidence suspected tampered vials of fentanyl, syringes and vials labeled as saline. The evidence included 22 packages of fentanyl suspected of having been tampered. A DEA lab tested 15 of the packages and found that no fentanyl remained inside them.

In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Godfrey said Mills could have taken the fentanyl without replacing it with saline but that would have led to the tampering being discovered sooner. “The defendant chose to be deceptive and replace the fentanyl with saline water in order to continue to have access to the drug, knowing the risk it would pose to patients,” Godfrey said.

AUSA Godfrey prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the DEA.

U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, “This is a serious crime. By replacing fentanyl with saline, Mills put patients at risk of not having their severe pain properly treated. In addition, diverting fentanyl from its intended use can have lethal consequences to a community. Thankfully, that did not occur in this case. I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Godfrey, the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, for their successful investigation and prosecution of the case, after being alerted to the theft of fentanyl by Billings Clinic.”

“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care,” said Lisa

L. Malinowski, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Los Angeles Field Office. “We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with drugs needed by their patients, especially when such tampering causes unnecessary pain and suffering.”

DEA Resident Agent-in-Charge Stacy Zinn-Brittain stated, “DEA is committed to working this type of investigation to keep patients safe during medical procedures. We appreciated Billings Clinic’s cooperation in working with DEA on this investigation.”

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WASHINGTON— The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior announced a dramatic expansion of a key program that provides tribes with access to national crime information databases.

The Blackfeet Indian Nation, based in Browning, is among 25 tribes that will be new to the Justice Department’s Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP).  The program not only provides access to national criminal databases but also enables tribes to enter and track information about missing persons.

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, “We are pleased that the Blackfeet Nation has been selected for expansion of the Tribal Access Program. The program will allow the Blackfeet Tribal Police and other tribal departments to enter information about missing persons into the national missing persons database, enter updates about each person and learn of updates from law enforcement across the country.”

“This will be a big step toward ensuring that missing persons, particularly Blackfeet women and children, are found, and that the Tribe has the most up to date information about missing members,” said Alme, who also is vice chair of the Attorney General’s Native American Issues Subcommittee.

Blackfeet Chairman Tim Davis said, “Having real time access to the TAP program and criminal information readily available to tribal law enforcement agencies provides the assurance that our residents are better served and protected. Indian communities who have sadly experienced so many injustices for so long are now being afforded justice on a more timely and effective scale.”

The Blackfeet tribe will be Montana’s second tribe to join the TAP program. The Fort Peck Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, based in Poplar, currently participate in the program.

By the end of 2019, the Justice Department will expand the number of TAP participating tribes by more than 50 percent—from 47 tribes to 72 tribes. 

TAP allows tribes access to information in several national databases through the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Systems network, including the National Crime Information Center and other databases. 

TAP enhances tribal efforts to register sex offenders pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act; have access to orders of protection enforced nationwide; protect children; keep firearms away from prohibited persons; improve the safety of public housing; and allow tribes to enter their arrests and convictions into national databases.

The program also provides tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for both criminal and civil purposes.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) will fund the instillation of TAP Kiosks at three locations where the BIA-Office of Indian Services (BIA-OIS) deliver direct social services by the end of 2019. The Interior Department aims to expand TAP access at all 28 BIA-Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) operated law enforcement agencies and detention service centers.  These BIA locations will provide some degree of access to TAP for services delivered to more than 50 tribal communities that currently do not have any direct access. 

“Access to information is vital to effective law enforcement,” said Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and the Chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Native American Issues.  “The Tribal Access Program will enhance and improve the ability of tribal law enforcement officers to serve their communities.”

The Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) is comprised of United States Attorneys with Indian Country in their federal districts. They advise the Attorney General regarding the development and implementation of policies pertaining to justice in Indian Country. The NAIS identified ‘increased law enforcement resources’ as one of four priority areas to improve justice services in Indian Country. Support for and increased dissemination of the TAP was unanimously supported by the US Attorneys at a recent NAIS meeting in Indian Country in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For more information on TAP, visit: www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap

For more information about the Justice Department’s work on tribal justice and public safety issues, visit:  www.justice.gov/tribal

# # #

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday recognized a team of Montana law enforcement officers from multiple agencies for their work in the arrest and prosecution of a man convicted in the 2016 kidnapping and assault of a young girl on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. 

Sessions honored 15 individuals from federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies, who were among 244 Department of Justice employees and 36 other individuals outside of the department, for their distinguished public service at the 66th Annual Attorney General’s Award Ceremony.

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme praised the work of multiple law enforcement agencies in the case. “This child is alive today because of the outstanding teamwork of many federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers,” Alme said. “They, together with the victim specialists and assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, ensured this child received the care she needed and brought the offender to justice through their personal dedication to the people we serve,” he said.

The case began in February 2016 when a girl was abducted from a park in Wolf Point. A massive, coordinated search and investigation involving more than 120 personnel from federal, state, tribal and local agencies ultimately led to the victim being found alive two days later in a remote area near Wolf Point. The victim had been assaulted and left for dead in freezing winter conditions.

The investigation led to the suspect, John William Lieba II, who was 20 at the time, being charged in the case. A federal jury convicted Lieba of kidnapping, abuse and assault charges after deliberating 27 minutes.

In a sentencing memo filed in federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon said, “Lieba, through his actions, forced every parent in Montana to confront their worst nightmare.”

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced Lieba in July 2017 to 500 months (41.6 years) in prison and five years of supervised release.

Those honored for their work in the case include Ryan Weldon, U.S. Attorney’s Office; David Burns, Harry Murphy III, Craig Overby, Michelle Stewart, Kelli Burns, Julia Meredith, FBI; Matthew Kroeger, U.S. Customs & Border Protection; Chad Greenwood, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Ken Trottier, Lewis Matthews, Sean Red Boy, Angela Matthews, Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigations; Corey Reum, Patrick O’Connor, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.

The Lieba case was investigated by the FBI, the Fort Peck Tribes’ Department of Law and Justice, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and multiple other federal, state and local agencies.

In honoring the recipients of the Attorney General’s Award, Sessions said, “Service in the Department of Justice is more than a normal job; it is a calling to the highest standards of professionalism. That is true for all of the 115,000 Department of Justice employees. But it is especially true for these award winners.”

# # #

BILLINGS - The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Marco Antonio Alvarez-Acevedo, a 28 year-old citizen of Mexico and resident of Sunnyside, Washington, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering charges.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the sentencing.

Alvarez was convicted of possession with intent to distribute meth and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In the summer of 2016, Drug Enforcement Administration agents learned from sources that Alvarez was a member of a drug trafficking organization in Washington that transported meth to Billings-area meth distributor Pedro Carrasco.  Sources indicated that Alvarez helped distribute methamphetamine to Carrasco and collect money from the sale of the meth.

During the investigation, agents obtained a contact number for a phone used by Alvarez.  An undercover agent communicated with Alvarez via phone and arranged for Alvarez to ship approximately one pound of methamphetamine to Billings.  The package of meth was then seized in Billings. A DEA lab analysis of the meth determined the package contained 442.7 grams of pure meth.

 The undercover agent continued communicating with Alvarez, who decided to travel to Montana in April 2016 to deliver more meth and collect money.  While traveling to Billings, Alvarez’s vehicle was stopped near Bozeman and agents confirmed that Alvarez was in the vehicle.  Agents searched the vehicle but did not seize any additional meth.   

Alvarez was held responsible for distributing 442.7 grams of pure meth.  That converts to 3,541 individual doses of pure meth that would have potentially reached drug users in Montana. 

In addition, Carrasco was sentenced in February 2018 to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and conspiracy to commit money laundering.   

This case was investigated by the DEA; Internal Revenue Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force; Montana Highway Patrol; and multiple other federal, state, and local agencies. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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MISSOULA – Missoula resident Bryce David Koch, 31, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release for conviction in a methamphetamine trafficking case.  Koch pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided at the sentencing.

In October 2017, law enforcement officers received information that Koch was going to Washington and purchasing methamphetamine to bring back for distribution in the Missoula area.  On October 30, 2017, the Montana Highway Patrol stopped Koch in his vehicle near Frenchtown.  A search warrant later revealed the presence of 326 grams of pure methamphetamine, which converts to more than 2,600 dosages that would have otherwise reached users in Montana.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana.  A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime.  Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

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BILLINGS – In the past six months, law enforcement officers have charged 106 persons in federal and state court, seized 160 pounds of methamphetamine and confiscated 52 firearms from the Yellowstone County community as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal program to reduce violent crime through a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement effort.

Violent crime in the community is a serious problem. Billings Police Department information shows the violent crime rate has increased 75 percent from 2010 to 2017. And violent crime in Montana has increased almost 35 percent from its low in 2010 through 2016, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.

More recently, the 2018 first quarter figures of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in Yellowstone County were up more than 29 percent from the first quarter average of the prior two years.

Since PSN began in April, violent crime in the community has decreased back to previous levels. 

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said the six-month figures, for the second and third quarters, indicate that murders, aggravated assaults and robberies are down 1 percent below the average of the previous two years.

 “We believe the numbers show that PSN is working to reduce violent crime but that more work needs done,” Alme said.

Alme thanked all of PSN’s law enforcement partners for their work and commitment in investigating, arresting and prosecuting individuals accused of violent crimes.

Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said PSN’s message continues to be, “If you commit armed robbery, push meth or commit a firearms offense, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

PSN is a reinvigorated U.S. Department of Justice initiative that identifies the most violent criminals in high-crime areas and works with federal, state and local law enforcement and community partners to develop a crime-reduction and substance abuse prevention and treatment strategy. DOJ celebrated PSN’s one-year anniversary earlier this month.

PSN Yellowstone County has been working to arrest armed robbers, methamphetamine traffickers and violent felons possessing firearms. Law enforcement officials have identified methamphetamine as a primary cause for the increase in violent crime.

Information from PSN Yellowstone County’s first six months shows that 106 individuals have been charged, with 87 individuals being prosecuted in U.S. District Court and 19 individuals, who face more than 40 serious felony charges, being prosecuted in state District Court. The state cases include persons charged and revocations. Federal prosecutors intend to present charges against another 14 individuals soon.

The crimes charged include drug trafficking, armed robberies, firearms violations and other offenses.

Statewide, the PSN program since January has resulted in 187 individuals being charged in federal court.

In addition, the U.S. Marshal’s Service Montana Violent Offender Task Force has served warrants on 288 individuals since April 1.

Methamphetamine seized through PSN Yellowstone County has totaled 160 pounds, which is the equivalent of about 579,840 doses and has a street value of about $7,273,200. Law enforcement also seized marijuana, heroin and cocaine.

Law enforcement has confiscated 52 firearms, including six semi-automatic assault rifles and an assortment of semi-automatic handguns and shotguns.

To help fund PSN in Montana, DOJ earlier this month awarded $136,802 to the Montana Board of Crime Control for PSN initiatives in Yellowstone and Missoula counties. The funding is part of $30 million in grants issued nationwide at PSN’s one-year anniversary. Some of the money will help the Billings Police Department analyze PSN cases to understand where and when violence is happening and who is committing it so law enforcement can better focus its resources.

PSN Yellowstone County’s partners include the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office; Montana Department of Justice’s Prosecution Services Division, Highway Patrol and the Division of Criminal Investigation; the Montana Department of Correction’s Adult Probation and Parole Division; the Billings and Laurel police departments; the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office; Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

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BILLINGS—Yellowstone Substance Abuse Connect, a coalition organized to create a comprehensive community plan to reduce substance abuse in Yellowstone County, will be the beneficiary of a major federal grant awarded this week as part of a broader effort to fight violent crime in the community. 

Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme on Thursday announced that the Office of National Drug Control Policy awarded $358,741 to the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Task Force (HIDTA Task Force).  The grant will be administered by the Billings Police Department on behalf of the HIDTA Task Force to fund the efforts of Yellowstone Connect.

Yellowstone Connect was organized through the leadership of United Way of Yellowstone County and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an enforcement initiative reinvigorated a year ago by the Department of Justice to reduce violent crime. Violent crime in Billings has increased 75 percent from 2010 through 2017, according to the Billings Police Department. 

As part of PSN Yellowstone County, federal, state and local law enforcement identified meth trafficking and use as the leading cause of the increase in violent crime.  Since April, PSN’s law enforcement partners have already made arrests leading to 90 individuals being charged with meth trafficking, armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms by felons and other prohibited persons.

Enforcement partners have recognized that more efforts in meth prevention, treatment and diversion also will be critical to turning the tide.

Yellowstone Connect will bring additional prevention, treatment and diversion to the initiative.  Yellowstone Connect formed in May and already has more than 60 enforcement, judicial, corrections, medical, mental health, treatment and prevention organizations.

“We are pleased that the community received this money which will fund a key part of PSN’s goal to reduce violent crime by fighting meth trafficking and use.  Vigorous enforcement is only part of the solution; we need the community’s help to reduce use through additional prevention, treatment and drug court diversion,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

“I want to thank all our PSN federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their outstanding work to make this community safer, and especially the Billings Police Department for administering the HIDTA Task Force grants.  I also want to thank United Way of Yellowstone County for its work to launch this coalition, and all of our Yellowstone Connect partners for recognizing the important need in this community to reduce the demand for meth and committing to be part of the solution,” Alme said.

Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said, “Supported by this grant, we now will be able to improve the coordination and effectiveness of drug enforcement, treatment and prevention efforts in Yellowstone County. Yellowstone Connect will bring stakeholders together to combat the serious meth crisis in our community.”

Kristin Lundgren, United Way’s Director of Impact, said, “We are lucky to have the right leadership at the Yellowstone Connect table to make the most of this opportunity. We have the enforcement leadership from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Montana Attorney General’s Office and the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office and all federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  We have leadership from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and our local leaders in treatment, prevention and diversion.”

“In our community, who hasn’t been touched by addiction in some way—crime, family chaos, inability to find workers who can pass a drug test, kids in foster care, elder abuse and domestic violence?” Lundgren said.

The Yellowstone Connect funding will be used to hire a full-time coordinator to oversee the initiative. The initiative has four main strategies: to conduct a needs assessment to determine prevention, diversion and treatment needs and community resources; to develop a plan to get more people into treatment and diversion programs and to prevent addiction; to put the plan into action; and to share the plan and methods with other coalitions in HIDTA areas.

Lundgren said she expects Yellowstone Connect to have a coordinator hired by the early 2019.

For more information about Yellowstone Connect, contact Lundgren at 406-272-8505.

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GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 63-year old Jewell Kipp of Great Falls was sentenced to 94 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.  U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.  

Beginning in the fall of 2017, and continuing into early 2018, Kipp distributed large quantities of methamphetamine in Great Falls, Montana.  The Russell Country Drug Task Force ultimately seized approximately 220 grams of actual methamphetamine from Kipp over the course of five months.  The defendant was held responsible for distributing this amount of methamphetamine, which converts to 1,760 individual doses of the drug.

Through this investigation, law enforcement further learned the defendant had numerous customers throughout Great Falls, and she had access to pound quantities of methamphetamine.  Kipp also has numerous prior felony convictions for methamphetamine.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Russell Country Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana.  A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime.  Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

A federal jury in U.S. District Court in Helena on Thursday convicted two defendants of robbery and firearms charges in a drug-related home invasion. The four-day trial that began on Monday.

The jury found Gabriel Elijah Kane Arkinson, 32, Billings, and Jamie Nicole Milsten, 35, Helena, each guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce, robbery affecting commerce and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Each defendant faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release for the conspiracy and robbery convictions, plus a mandatory minimum seven years to life in prison consecutive to any other charge on the firearm charge.

A third defendant, Melissa Dawn Shurtliff, 28, Helena, pleaded guilty earlier to robbery affecting commerce and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Prosecutors at trial presented evidence that Arkinson and Milsten entered the residence of a Helena drug dealer on April 23, 2017 to steal drugs and drug proceeds. Arkinson was armed with a sawed-off shotgun, and Milsten searched the residence for drugs and money. A small amount of methamphetamine, U.S. currency and a cell phone were stolen. Shurtliff planned the robbery and acted as the getaway driver.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided at the trial. Sentencing for the three defendants is scheduled for April 9, 2019. The defendants are in custody.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson and investigated by the FBI and the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and to make communities safer. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department of Justice’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio traveled to Mexico City on Tuesday to lead the U.S. delegation in the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls.  The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico as a result of the commitments from the North American Leaders Summit (NALS) in 2016.

During the meeting there was an exchange of experiences and best practices between representatives, experts and indigenous young women and advocates from Canada, Mexico and the United States to prevent and address gender violence and the challenges for their access to justice. Indigenous women shared their experiences and perspectives, contributing to the development of outcomes for the working group.

“In the United States, violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women is an urgent problem; indeed, it is a crisis,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Panuccio. “Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the entire Department of Justice are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety in Native American communities.  The United States has increased funding, launched innovative programs, and aggressively investigated and prosecuted these crimes. Cooperative efforts between our three nations will help us end the scourge of abuse and empower indigenous women and girls.  Justice demands it, the victims deserve it, and we must deliver it.”

As head of the U.S. delegation, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Panuccio met with Gina Wilson, Canada’s Deputy Minister of the Status of Women; Roberto Serrano Altamirano, Director General of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples and Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas, Mexico’s Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Department of Justice delegation also included U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme of Montana, U.S. Attorney John Anderson of New Mexico, Acting Director Katharine Sullivan of the Office on Violence against Women (OVW), OVW Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs Sherriann Moore and Rachel Bissex, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Associate Attorney General.

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Panuccio discussed Department of Justice efforts to prosecute and prevent violence against indigenous women and girls, including the doubling of grant funding for public safety and victim services in Native American communities.  He also discussed improvements to OVW’s Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys program. 

The Working Group also discussed the significance of economic empowerment for indigenous women and girls, as well as inclusive economic growth for families, communities and countries. The Working Group addressed the importance of supporting youth leadership in indigenous communities as a means to promote and protect their human rights.

“Comprehensive respect for the human rights of indigenous women and girls is an obligation for States and is also fundamental for the well-being of their families, communities and countries,” said Ambassador Ruiz Cabañas.  “Therefore, for the Government of Mexico, Indigenous women’s human rights are approached with a double perspective: the individual dimension, in which human rights are inherent prerogatives of women […]; and the collective dimension, since indigenous women are subject of enforceable human rights within the framework of their peoples and communities.”

“Canada, along with our North American partners, is committed to ending violence against Indigenous women and girls and to addressing the systemic factors that feed this violence,” said the Honorable Carolyn Bennett, M.D., P.C., M.P., Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.  “In the spirit of collaboration, we will continue to seek the vision, support and guidance of Indigenous leaders, elders, women, and youth to promote the economic rights and empowerment of indigenous women and girls. I also wish to congratulate Gina Wilson and the rest of the Canadian delegation for their hard work during this meeting.”

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Panuccio’s visit supports the Justice Department’s continuing efforts under the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety.

This is the third meeting of the trilateral working group.  The first was hosted by the United States in October 2016 and the second was held in Ottawa on November 2017.

A 2016 National Institute for Justice study concluded that more than half of all Native women have experienced sexual violence and physical violence by an intimate partner, and that 84 percent have experienced some form of violence in their lifetimes.

The Group will continue to foster efforts supporting the work of indigenous women of the three countries at the margins of the trilateral annual meeting, particularly at the international fora such as the Human Rights Council, the Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nation Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFI). 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme of Montana joined the Department of Justice today in announcing more than $70 million in grant funding to bolster school security, educate and train students and faculty, and support law enforcement officers and first responders who arrive on the scene of a school violence incident, including a state agency and a school district in Montana.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction will receive $497,479 from the STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training program, while Arlee Public Schools will receive $148,938 from the STOP School Violence Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting program.

These grants are in addition to the funding to the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week, to expand and update their curriculum to better support training programs. These grants combined will better protect students, teachers, faculty, and first responders across the United States. Additionally, the Department is awarding more than $64 million to state agencies to improve the completeness, quality, and accessibility of the nation’s criminal record systems, which will help law enforcement and increase the effectiveness of background checks.

“President Trump and his administration will ensure the safety of every American school," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "Earlier this year he signed into law the STOP School Violence Act, which provides grant funding to develop anonymous school threat reporting systems, to implement school building security measures, and to train students, school personnel, and law enforcement on how to prevent school violence. Today I am announcing $70 million in these grants to hundreds of cities and states across America. These grants will go a long way toward giving young people and their families both safety and peace of mind.”

U.S. Attorney Alme said, “We cannot expect our students to learn and reach their academic goals if they don’t feel safe. I am pleased to announce that Montana schools will be participating in this important grant funding stream to improve school safety.”

The Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) together are making more than 220 awards to jurisdictions across the country to help make schools more secure. The awards, granted through three funding streams, will provide new technology for reporting systems and other threat deterrent measures and create school safety training and education programs for school administrators, staff, students, and first responders.

This includes the support for existing crisis intervention teams and the creation of new ones.

• BJA’s STOP School Violence Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting Program will provide 68 awards valued at more than $19 million. This funding supports training to create and operate threat assessment and crisis intervention teams and to develop technology for local or regional anonymous reporting systems. This technology may be in the form of a mobile phone application, hotline, or website.

• The STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program, also managed by BJA, will provide training and education on preventing violence and effectively responding to related mental health crises. This program will fund 85 awards at nearly $28 million.

• The COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) will provide nearly $25 million to 91 jurisdictions for school safety measures including coordination with law enforcement, training for law enforcement to prevent student violence against others and self, target hardening measures, and technology for expedited notification of law enforcement during an emergency.

The grants are authorized by the STOP School Violence Act, which are intended to improve school security by helping students and teachers reduce exposure to risks, prevent acts of violence, and quickly recognize and respond to violent attacks.

The Department also announced that it has awarded more than $64 million to state agencies to improve the completeness, quality, and accessibility of the nation’s criminal record systems. These grants are administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, part of OJP. Approximately $43 million in funding will be administered through the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), and nearly $21 million will be awarded under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program. These grant programs help states automate and upgrade records accessed by the firearms background check system. This year, at the direction of the Attorney General, the Department prioritized funding for projects that improve accessibility of criminal history records, domestic violence convictions, and information on persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms for mental-health related reasons.

The Department is also investing over $1 million in research to better understand the factors behind mass shooting incidents. The grant awards, made by the Department’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), part of OJP, support scientific investigations that will examine factors that contribute to mass violence, identify any patterns in mass shootings, analyze psychological and social life histories of mass shooters and community-level predictors of mass violence, and will examine firearm purchasing patterns of known mass shooters in order to create a risk prediction tool.

For addition information on today’s grant announcements, visit www.bja.gov or www.cops.usdoj.gov.

NOTE: The breakdown of the STOP School Violence Grants can be found here: STOP School Violence Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting Program, STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program, and COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program

Montana-based Kalispell Regional Healthcare System (KRH) along with six subsidiaries and related entities – Kalispell  Regional Medical Center (KRMC), HealthCenter Northwest LLC (HealthCenter), Flathead Physicians Group LLC (Flathead), Northwest Horizons LLC (NH), Northwest Orthopedics & Sports Medicine LLC (NOSM), and Applied Health Services Inc. (AHS), (collectively, “KRH entities”) – have  agreed to pay $24 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians more than fair market value, and by conspiring to enter into arrangements that improperly induced referrals, the Department of Justice announced today. 

“Financial arrangements that improperly compensate physicians who make referrals to a hospital drive up the cost of health care services for everyone,” said Assistant Attorney General Joseph H. Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “This settlement demonstrates the Department’s determination to enforce federal laws aimed at preventing conflicts of interest between the financial interests of hospitals and physicians and the best interests of the patients they serve.”

The government alleged that the KRH entities had arrangements with referring physicians that violated the Medicare physician self-referral prohibition, commonly known as the Stark Law, and other arrangements that also violated the Anti-Kickback Statute.  The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has an improper compensation arrangement.  The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs.  Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based only on the best interests of the patient. 

Between 2010 and 2018, the KRH entities allegedly violated the Stark Law by paying excessive full-time compensation to more than 60 physician specialists – many of whom worked far less than full-time.   Additionally, HealthCenter, Flathead, NH, NOSM, and AHS allegedly conspired to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying excessive compensation to physicians employed by KRH, KRMC, and other KRH entities to induce referrals to HealthCenter, and by providing administrative services to HealthCenter at below fair market value to reduce expenses and increase profits distributed to physician investors at Flathead, an owner of HealthCenter, also to induce referrals to HealthCenter. 

“Quality healthcare is a critical need of all Montanans, but paying extra to physicians to induce referrals improperly raises the cost of that healthcare and must stop,” said United States Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme.  “I would like to thank the team that worked hard to bring this to a quick and successful resolution, which is the largest False Claims Act recovery in the District of Montana, including members of the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as agents with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“Our office will continue to focus our efforts on those who make improper payments to physicians for the purpose of inducing referrals in order to ensure the integrity of HHS programs,” said Steve Hanson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Kansas City Region.

The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in two lawsuits filed by Jon Mohatt, a former Chief Financial Officer for KRH’s Physicians Network, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.  The whistleblower will receive $5,411,521 million as his share of the recovery in the two consolidated cases.

The case was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The lawsuits are captioned United States ex rel. Mohatt v. Kalispell Regional Healthcare System et al., Civ. No. 16-125 and United States ex rel. Mohatt v. HealthCenter NW, LLC et al., Civ. No. 18-80, and are consolidated under Civ No. 18-80.  The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability. 

MISSOULA - Salomon Mejia Preciado, a 36-year-old resident of Yakima, Washington, was sentenced today to 151 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Preciado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Preciado is a former Federal felon and was prosecuted in the Eastern District of Washington and sentenced in 2003 to ten years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy handed down the sentence. 

In early September of 2017, law enforcement set up an undercover operation in which they purchased one pound of methamphetamine from Preciado in Missoula, Montana.  Later in September, Preciado was apprehended in his vehicle with six pounds of methamphetamine while traveling back to Missoula for another deal.  The methamphetamine totaled more than 3,000, grams which is the equivalent of more than 24,000 doses which would have otherwise reached users in Montana.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott and investigated by the Missoula Drug Task Force. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 42-year old Brian Weber of Great Falls was sentenced to 180 months in prison, 10 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.  U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.  

Brian Weber distributed heroin and methamphetamine in Great Falls for over three years, spanning from 2014 through early 2017.  During part of this time, Weber resided at the pre-release center and distributed heroin and methamphetamine around Great Falls, as well as to residents at the center.  The FBI investigated Weber and identified numerous individuals in Great Falls who received their narcotics from Weber.    

Weber has an extensive criminal history of prior felony violent crimes and a federal drug conviction, including violence against family members, girlfriends and members within his drug network.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

“Brian Weber is a dangerous criminal with a substantial criminal history. Because of that, we asked for an enhanced sentence provided by statute to make sure Weber is removed from our communities for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme. “I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and the FBI’s Regional Violent Crime Task Force, in western Montana, including officers from Montana Probation and Parole and the sheriff’s offices in Lewis and Clark and Missoula counties and the Missoula Police Department, for helping to get this case successfully prosecuted,” Alme said.

“The substantial sentence Brian Weber received today is the result of the unwavering commitment and cooperation by the partner agencies of the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force (MRVCTF),” said Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart. “The crimes he has been found guilty of undermine the security of our society, and the communities Mr. Weber threatened are safer today with him behind bars. The FBI is grateful to the MRVCTF – including the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s office, the Missoula Police Department and the Montana Probation and Parole Bureau – as well as the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood for their dedication to this case.”

“Through our cooperative agreement to join FBI’s Regional Violent Crime Task Force, we are making Lewis and Clark County a safer place to live. This task force is an effective way to deal with crime at the county, state and national level,” said Sheriff Leo C. Dutton.

“This is another example of the successes of our partnership with the FBI Regional Violent Crime Task Force,” Missoula County Sheriff TJ McDermott said. “We are fortunate to have an incredibly hard-working group of people who genuinely care about keeping our community a safer place to live.”

GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 49-year old Frederick Lona of Monrovia, California, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.  U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.  

Frederick Lona assisted in facilitating a drug conspiracy in 2011 and 2012 that distributed cocaine and methamphetamine to Great Falls and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.  Lona and his co-defendants obtained the cocaine and methamphetamine in California, and directly supplied individuals in Montana with the drugs for redistribution in the Great Falls and Browning communities.  Lona’s four co-defendants were previously sentenced in 2013 for their roles in this offense. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 45-year-old George Goodrie was sentenced to 38 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.  U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.  

During the early morning hours of January 17, 2016, Great Falls police searched for Goodrie in relation to an earlier reported incident regarding a robbery in Great Falls.  Law enforcement found a truck Goodrie stole in a casino parking lot.  Officers went into the casino and arrested Goodie. 

Officers searched the stolen truck and observed a handgun on the seat underneath the center console.  This firearm appeared to be the same firearm previously identified as being associated with Goodrie.  Goodrie has an extensive criminal history that includes over 20 prior felony convictions for thefts, violent conduct, and drugs, which precludes him from possessing firearms.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Great Falls Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

MISSOULA - Robert Craig Smith, 39, of Missoula, was sentenced today to a total of 120 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.  Chief United States District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Smith to 60 months for each count, to run consecutively. 

Beginning in the Spring of 2015 and continuing through January of 2018, Smith distributed more than a pound of methamphetamine around the Missoula area.  Smith also exchanged firearms for methamphetamine on several occasions. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott and investigated by the FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana.  A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime.  Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

MISSOULA – Martin James Walsh, a 53-year-old resident of Twin Bridges, Montana, was sentenced to 120 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.  Chief United States District Judge Dana Christensen handed down the sentence.

Beginning in October 2016, the South West Montana Drug Task Force (Task Force) purchased an “8-ball” or 3.5 grams of methamphetamine from Walsh.  The next month the Task Force again made a purchase of ¼ ounce of methamphetamine from Walsh.  In June 2017, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office  purchased a small amount of heroin from Walsh.  Based upon the purchases, sheriff’s deputies obtained a search warrant for Walsh’s residence in Twin Bridges.  When the deputies searched Walsh’s home they found a digital scale, several glass smoking pipes, a large box containing four bags of a white crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.  Walsh was home at the time of the search.  He was detained and read his Miranda rights.  Walsh stated that he had been selling ounces of meth in Madison County as well as Bozeman and Butte.  The amount of methamphetamine found in Walsh’s residence was approximately 260 grams or 2080 dosing units.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan R. Whittaker and investigated by the FBI, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, South West Montana Drug Task Force, and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.

MISSOULA - Phillip Devon Johnson, 26, of Spokane, WA, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Johnson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Chief United States District Judge Dana L. Christensen handed down the sentence. 

On April 26, 2017, after members of law enforcement received information that Johnson was coming to Montana to deliver approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine, he was stopped in his vehicle by Montana Highway Patrol.  A canine alerted to drugs in his vehicle and a later search revealed 190.4 grams of pure methamphetamine. This converts to over 1,500 dosage units which would have otherwise reached users in Montana.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott and investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to identify those responsible for significant violent crime in Montana.  A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a recently reinvigorated Department of Justice program that has proven to be successful in reducing violent crime.  Today’s sentencing is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have proposed a reduction for controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases manufacturing quotas for the most six frequently misused opioids for 2019 by an average ten percent as compared to the 2018 amount. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) marks the third straight year of proposed reductions, which help reduce the amount of drugs potentially diverted for trafficking and used to facilitate addiction.

On July 11, 2018, the Justice Department announced that DEA was issuing a final rule amending its regulations to improve the agency’s ability consider the likelihood of whether a drug can be diverted for abuse when it sets annual opioid production limits. The final rule also promotes greater involvement from state attorneys general, and today’s proposed reduction will be sent to those offices.

In setting the aggregate production quote (APQ), DEA considers data from many sources, including estimates of the legitimate medical need from the Food and Drug Administration; estimates of retail consumption based on prescriptions dispensed; manufacturers’ disposition history and forecasts; data from DEA’s own internal system for tracking controlled substance transactions; and past quota histories.

The DEA has proposed to reduce more commonly prescribed schedule II opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, morphine, and fentanyl:

Ultimately, revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potential addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.

"The opioid epidemic that we are facing today is the worst drug crisis in American history," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "President Trump has set the ambitious goal of reducing opioid prescription rates by one-third in three years. We embrace that goal and are resolutely committed to reaching it. According to the National Prescription Audit, we have already made significant progress in reducing prescription rates over the past year. Cutting opioid production quotas by an average of ten percent next year will help us continue that progress and make it harder to divert these drugs for abuse. The American people can be confident that federal law enforcement and the Trump administration are taking action to protect them from dangerous drugs.  These smarter limits bring us one big step closer to President Trump's goal of finally ending this unprecedented crisis. I congratulate Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon and his team for taking action.”

“We’ve lost too many lives to the opioid epidemic and families and communities suffer tragic consequences every day,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. “This significant drop in prescriptions by doctors and DEA’s production quota adjustment will continue to reduce the amount of drugs available for illicit diversion and abuse while ensuring that patients will continue to have access to proper medicine.”

United States Attorney Kurt G. Alme voiced support for the proposed rulemaking.  Alme stated, “The Safe Prescribing Plan provides valuable support for our efforts across Montana to reduce the amount of unlawfully diverted opioid medications.  This plan reduces the production of these highly addictive medications for the third year in a row and will help reduce the amounts of these drugs potentially diverted to drug traffickers.  The proposed final rule also promotes greater involvement from the state attorneys general, and I look forward to working with A.G. Fox to identify and stop the unlawful diversion of these drugs.”

Once the aggregate quota is set, DEA allocates individual manufacturing and procurement quotas to those manufacturers that apply for them. DEA may revise a company’s quota at any time during the year if change is warranted due to increased or decreased sales or exports, new manufacturers entering the market, new product development, or product recalls.

When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, the quota system was intended to reduce or eliminate diversion from “legitimate channels of trade” by controlling the quantities of the basic ingredients needed for the manufacture of controlled substances.

The Proposed Aggregate Production Quotas for schedule I and II controlled substances published in the Federal Register reflects the total amount of controlled substances necessary to meet the country’s medical, scientific, research, industrial, and export needs for the year and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks. DEA establishes an APQ for more than 250 schedule I and II controlled substances annually.

In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to practitioners recommending a reduction in the prescribing of opioid medications for chronic pain. DEA and its federal partners have increased efforts in the last several years to educate practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, distributors, and the public about the dangers associated with the misuse of opioid medications and the importance of proper prescribing.

MISSOULA - Randall Alan Franz, a 59-year-old resident of Sandpoint, Idaho, was sentenced on Thursday to 8 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $205,084.79 in restitution after pleading guilty to concealing assets in bankruptcy. Chief U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen announced the sentence.

Franz’s mother passed away in 2009. Franz was appointed as personal representative of her estate in October, 2010, a responsibility he held until he was removed in September of 2015. Franz was to split his mother’s estate, ultimately valued at almost $600,000, equally between himself and his two brothers. While one brother received approximately $120,000, Franz made no distribution to his other brother.

In the meantime, Franz filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2010, which was converted to a chapter 7 bankruptcy in January 2013. During his bankruptcy, Franz liquidated assets from his mother’s estate and hid his share of the proceeds from his Chapter 7 Trustee. Though Franz withdrew more than $270,000 of probate estate funds between April and October of 2013, Franz’s bankruptcy trustee received none of it. Based on this deception, the United States Bankruptcy Court revoked Franz’s discharge on November 5, 2015, and Franz was referred for criminal prosecution.

“The bankruptcy system is an important safety net for all Americans.  People like the defendant who misuse it for their own personal gain threaten its integrity and will be prosecuted, ” said Kurt Alme, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chad C. Spraker and Keith A. Jones, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Trustee’s Office.

MISSOULA - Joseph Brent Loftis, 63, of Corona Del Mar, California, was sentenced on Friday, August 10, for multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering.  Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Loftis to 97 months in prison on all counts of conviction, to run concurrently, three years of supervised release and a $700 special assessment.  Loftis stipulated to a forfeiture order of $1,662,749.10.  Chief Judge Christensen further ordered Loftis to pay $7,831,666.55 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. 

Loftis was convicted by a Montana jury in April of 2018 of five counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering following an eight-day trial with testimony from thirty-two government witnesses. Evidence presented at trial showed that from 2009 through 2013 Loftis solicited approximately $3 million from investors based upon false representations that he owned leases on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Loftis also made misrepresentations regarding the amounts of oil produced from these oil wells. Loftis also falsely represented to investors that he owned oil and gas leases in Oklahoma and Texas though Loftis had defaulted on purchase agreements for the leases.

As part of his scheme, after receiving investor funds, Loftis typically provided investors with a few checks totaling about $1000 and then stopped payments altogether. Once investors complained, Loftis provided excuses regarding disputes about ownership or issues with drilling. In some instances, Loftis offered to return the investors’ money and entered a rescission agreement for the investment. Loftis, however, failed to return the investors’ money or issued a check cancelled through a stop payment.

In 2011, Loftis took steps to complete a transaction known as reverse merger in which his shell company, Prism, would become a subsidiary of a publically traded company. Based upon Loftis’s representations that he needed capital to continue Prism’s operations until his company could receive equity in the public markets, Loftis obtained a $1.9 million bridge loan from investor funds. After Loftis received the loan proceeds, he failed to carry out the steps needed to complete the merger and kept the bridge loan proceeds while spending $190,000 of the funds on a luxury RV and other personal expenses.

Also in 2011, Loftis relocated to Texas and began soliciting funds from investors in a newly formed company Great Northern Energy. Loftis continued to misrepresent his education and denied having a criminal record despite a 1995 felony conviction for bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution.

This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chad Spraker and Adam Duerk.