State Auditor’s Office announces restitution checks for fraud

The Office of State Auditor James Brown announced this week that the state is sending restitution checks to qualifying Montana citizens who have been the victim of securities-related fraud schemes.

More than $100,000 was returned to Montanans in 2025, a press release said. Montana is one of six states that provides restitution assistance to victims of investment fraud. 

“When fraudsters and bad actors harm Montanans, we aggressively investigate them, we fully prosecute them, and we ensure they take a one-way trip to Deer Lodge,” Brown said in a press release. “The most rewarding parts of my job as State Auditor is locking up bad actors and helping Montanans rebuild their lives. There is no better time to do that than this holiday season.”

No general fund money is used in the restitution. Instead, CSI collects money from firms doing investment business in Montana into the Securities Restitution Assistance Fund, a press release said. That fund also includes money collected from those who have violated Montana’s security laws.

State law limits the amount of money victims can receive from that fund and there’s additional restrictions if the fund is “depleted below” $1 million. When laws around victim restitution for securities-related fraud were passed, they were capped at $25,000. 

In 2015 through House Bill 57, restitution was increased to $50,000 for fraud against a victim who is a senior citizen or any other person defined in state law as a “vulnerable person.” That 2015 legislation was run by then-Rep. Moffie Funk, a Helena Democrat, at the request of former state auditor Monica Lindeen.

State residents who have been the victim of fraud are encouraged to fill out an application for restitution assistance, which can be found at csimt.gov.