Bank Fraud Sentence in Malta

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's Office says a 48-year-old Malta woman has been sentenced to just over two years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $950,000 in restitution for defrauding a Belt bank when she and her husband applied for operating credit for their ranch.

Lori Webb Knudsen was sentenced to 27 months in prison Monday during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon in Great Falls.

Prosecutors say Steve and Lori Knudsen defrauded Belt Valley Bank by overstating their assets and failing to list hundreds of thousands of dollars in liabilities when applying for loans totaling $1.6 million in 2005 and 2008.

As part of her guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and other charges were dismissed.

Steve Knudsen has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.