Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula on April 24, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, SUMMER JEAN LYNN FETTERS, a 33-year-old resident of Kalispell, pled guilty to theft of government funds - food stamp fraud. Sentencing is set for July 30, 2009. She is currently released on special conditions.

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

Between December 2005 and December 2007, FETTERS made false statements on her Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services applications and six-month reports, and thereby received food stamp and TANF benefits. FETTERS received overpayments of $7,938 in food stamps, $2,390 in TANF benefits, and over $6,382 in Medicaid payments to which she was not entitled and would not have received if she had been truthful about her household income and circumstances. The total loss to the government attributable to these false statements and fraudulent concealments is $16,710.

FETTERS faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.

 

 

Return to Top