COVID Fraud Scheme and More Relief Dollars in Montana

Here is a case of COVID-19 in Montana that has nothing to do with symptoms, other than showing severe symptoms of greed.

You knew from the start that there were going to be people preying upon all those dollars pouring in for coronavirus relief programs. And Montana is obviously not being spared from scams.

Associated Press tells us that two Montana men have been charged with scheming to defraud a bank out of $1 million in loans they were awarded through the federal government's COVID-19 relief program. Trevor Lanius-McLeod of Laurel and Kasey Wilson of Helena are accused of bank fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, spending the loan money for their personal benefit instead of what it was intended for, that being to cover payroll and other business expenses through the government's Paycheck Protection Program. They face a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Both have entered not guilty pleas.

And in separate news on the topic, it was announced today that Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is allocating over $35 million in coronavirus relief dollars. $32 million of it will go towards COVID-19 screening and testing in Montana schools. Over $1.6 million will go towards an employment and training program that assists people supported by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program gain skills and workforce experience. And $1.2 million was approved for a program that provides early intervention services for infants with significant developmental delays or disabilities.

In addition to those grants, another $300,000 will go to Montana’s Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act grant to provide training and technical support to teams responding to child abuse in the state.