District of Montana

BRENDA McDOUGAL SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Helena, on September 18, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, BRENDA MCDOUGAL, a 41-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. MCDOUGAL was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 7 months (community confinement)

• Special Assessment: $100

• Restitution: $46,638.64

• Supervised Release: 3 years

MCDOUGAL was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to theft and bank fraud.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

From May 26, 2005, to September 19, 2005, McDOUGAL stole $61,638.64 from an individual in Browning.

On December 4, 2005, McDOUGAL sent a letter to the individual in which she admitted she had stolen the above-referenced funds.

McDOUGAL paid back $5,000 on March 3, 2006, and $10,000 on August 11, 2006, leaving the total restitution still owing at $46,638.64.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that MCDOUGAL will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, MCDOUGAL does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Browning.