GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls man who admitted using stolen personal identifying information to make fraudulent checks in a scheme to spend almost $40,000 at area businesses was sentenced on Dec. 19 to 51 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
The government alleged that in 2019 and 2020, the man participated in a fraudulent check scheme where he used fake identification cards, stolen checks and check printing software and materials to create new checks with valid account numbers. He then used the fake identification cards and altered checks to spend almost $40,000 at businesses in the Great Falls and surrounding area. His conduct affected dozens of victims and impersonated numerous real individuals, who suffered financial loss and now face a lifetime of monitoring whether someone is using their personal information.
