MISSOULA — A former bookkeeper who admitted to embezzling approximately $159,000 from her employer was sentenced to prison on Tuesday.
Teri Anne Bell, 58, of Columbia Falls was ordered to serve five months in federal prison followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release, fined $20,000 and ordered to pay $174,572 restitution, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Bell had pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court also ordered Bell to perform 175 hours of community service.
The government alleged in court documents 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, a news release states.
In addition, Bell wrote herself a check for $10,000. 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.
When confronted, Bell denied any wrongdoing. After she was terminated, Bell filed a grievance and demanded to be reinstated. Prosecutors say the business owners spent an additional $15,441 to determine the extent of Bell’s fraud and to obtain legal counsel regarding her employment claim.
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.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case which was investigated by the FBI and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
