Montana Says Fraud Pool Pays First Victim

July 11, 2012

Montana officials say the new securities restitution pool has paid out to its first fraud victim.

State Auditor Monica Lindeen said that a Plains resident who lost his life’s savings of $55,000 in a hurricane relief scam will get $13,500 back from the pool.

Lindeen asked the 2011 Legislature to create the pool of money for victims, which is funded by court-ordered contributions from white collar criminals. The law allows victims to be compensated 25 percent of their loss, up to $25,000.

The victim of the hurricane scam was promised a very high return for a 2007 investment he was told would help rebuild hurricane damage.

Lindeen says that the perpetrator of the scam, Terry Parks, is currently serving a 20-year sentence in state prison and can’t repay the money.