Libby woman to serve no jail time in fraud scheme

Karol Moe, a 64-year-old Libby woman, was given a six-year deferred imposition of sentence Nov. 30 by Montana 19th Judicial District Judge James Wheelis. She was also ordered to pay $8,225 in restitution, which must be paid in full prior to the end of the six-year probationary term.

Moe was charged March 6, 2015, with one felony count of theft in a common scheme for her role in organizing a fundraising raffle and selling tickets, but keeping the money for herself.

According to documents filed with the court, Moe approached Montana Power Products of Libby in September 2013 to arrange for the raffle of a 2013 Polaris Ranger 900 all-terrain vehicle. The money raised from the raffle was intended to be used to help pay ongoing medical expenses for her brother, who was injured in a logging truck accident. The drawing was to be held Jan. 31, 2014.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s detective Dave Hall opened the investigation in October 2014, when a purchaser notified law enforcement that she had purchased $300 worth of tickets from Moe, but the promised raffle had never occurred.

Hall contacted Montana Power Products manager Kevin Fortner during the course of the investigation and learned that the company had agreed to provide the ATV at a significant discount in order to assist with the fundraising effort. Fortner indicated the store often provides discounted equipment in such situations in order to help the community and various groups.

According to Hall’s report, Moe told Fortner in January the raffle was being pushed back to Labor Day 2014, as she had not sold enough tickets to cover the cost of the machine. After that, Fortner lost contact with Moe. He said he made several attempts to contact her by phone and mail, even going so far as to visit her residence, all to no avail. In September 2014, the company was forced to sell the unit because interest payments were coming due.

Sheriff’s officers made contact with Moe on Oct. 27, 2014, who reportedly told investigators she’d had roughly $6,500 in raffle ticket money in her account at a local bank. The account, she said, had been seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

Based upon the conversation, Hall applied for and received a subpoena for Moe’s banking records. A review of the banking records, Hall wrote, turned up numerous checks written to local casinos, but no evidence of any action by the IRS, as Moe claimed in the initial conversation.

“There are multiple checks written by Moe to VFW, Crosscut and Lucky Logger Casinos, in $100 increments, on some dates more than one check,” Hall wrote. “This goes on for several months, which makes me believe that Moe could have been gambling, based on the multiple checks written back to back, some on the same date. During the end of this time frame multiple checks from these casinos start getting returned for non-sufficient funds. Beginning December of 2013, there are checks coming in written for Marvin Moe’s benefit in $25 increments, depending on the number of tickets purchased. Checks written from ticket purchasers continue to be deposited into this account through January, February, March and April of 2014. It appears about the time this investigation started Moe walked away from this bank account and the bank records end. After going through the bank records, I could find no withdrawal from Moe’s account by the IRS as she claimed during the beginning of this case.”

Moe entered into a plea agreement with the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office July 27, 2015, under which she agreed to plead guilty to theft in a common scheme, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. In exchange for her plea, the prosecution recommended she receive the six-year deferred imposition of sentence and no fines beyond restitution to the victims.

A pre-sentence investigation conducted by Adult Probation and Parole supported the same recommendation for sentence.

Under the terms of the deferred sentence, Moe will be on probation for the six-year period but will not serve jail time for her crime. The restitution in the case was set at $8,225 and ordered to be paid in full before the end of her probation sentence.

Her sentence also includes prohibitions on gambling and alcohol consumption, although on the basis of an objection from Moe’s attorney, Wheelis struck the probation condition requiring Moe to participate in the 24/7 sobriety program.

Fortner said he is glad the case is over, as he was afraid the situation would damage the reputation of Montana Power Products. Even so, he said, the company plans to continue helping community groups when it can.

“I guess hindsight is 20/20,” he said. “We’re going to be doing things a little different from here on out, but we’re still committed to helping the community and community groups when we can.”