Hilda Sue Lewis Towe Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on July 11, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, HILDA SUE LEWIS TOWE, a 35-year-old resident of Hamilton, was sentenced to a term of:

Probation: 5 years

Special Assessment: $200

Restitution: $32,181.01

TOWE was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to theft of federal government money and making false statements.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

Between March 2009 until approximately January 2012, TOWE received $21,868.01 in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to which she was not entitled.

TOWE made false statements in a written document by misrepresenting the composition of her household, employment status, and the amount of income received to support the household. She did so deliberately with the knowledge the statements were untrue.

In a June 2012 interview, she admitted she knew her legal reporting requirements for SSI and for serving as a representative payee. She admitted to purposely concealing material facts such as living arrangements and income. She stated that she knew if she accurately reported the status of those items it would effect her SSI eligibility. Finally, she stated that she purposely concealed facts from the Social Security Administration in order to continue receiving payments.

The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General.