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A former bookkeeper who admitted to embezzling approximately $159,000 from her employer, a Kalispell firearms manufacturing company, was sentenced Tuesday to prison time and ordered to pay $174,572 in restitution, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a news release.
The defendant, Teri Anne Bell, 58, of Columbia Falls, pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud.
Bell used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including hotels in Las Vegas and at Quinn’s Hot Springs, payments to retail and liquor stores, collection agencies and streaming services, according to the news release.
Bell was also fined $20,000, and she was sentenced to five months in federal prison followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release, the news release said.
The court also ordered Bell to perform 175 hours of community service.
The news release outlined the allegations made in court documents:
In the case, the government alleged that from May 2018 until about December 2021, Bell, while working as a bookkeeper for Falkor SID Inc., a firearm manufacturing and distribution business in Kalispell, stole more than $150,000.
Bell altered descriptions in Quickbooks to make it appear money was spent on legitimate business expenses when, in fact, the money went to pay down Bell’s personal credit card balances, the news release said. In addition, Bell wrote herself a check for $10,000, according to the government.
In the fall of 2021, Falkor’s owners suspected Bell was stealing money from the company, and a financial audit determined that Bell completed 45 unauthorized transactions totaling $159,131 in Falkor funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Montana.
When confronted, Bell denied any wrongdoing, the news release said. It said after she was terminated, Bell filed a grievance and demanded to be reinstated.
The business owners were forced to spend an additional $15,441 to determine the extent of Bell’s fraud and to obtain legal counsel regarding her employment claim, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted it.
The FBI and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.