Montana

Former Montana Heritage Commission director sentenced in embezzlement scheme

Published

2 months ago

December 19, 2025

Former Montana Heritage Commission director sentenced in embezzlement scheme

Former Montana Heritage Commission Executive Director Michael Elijah Allen was sentenced Thursday to 10-years in the Montana State Prison with seven years suspended for stealing public funds from the state agency charged with preserving some of Montana’s most significant historic sites.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley said she took no pleasure in imposing the sentence but told Allen he was the brains behind this operation of years of theft and fraud. On a count of theft by embezzlement as part of a common scheme, Seeley sentenced Allen to 10 years at the Montana State Prison with seven years suspended, and imposed a concurrent, fully suspended 14-year term on a felony money laundering count.

“You have destroyed yourself,” Seeley said. “You understand that. I hope you do. This is not anybody but you that did this.”

Allen was ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution to the Montana Heritage Commission, plus a 10% administrative fee, and a series of standard court costs and fees, including a presentence investigation fee and victim-witness surcharge. He received credit for eight days previously served in custody, from Dec. 27, 2024, through Jan. 3, 2025, and was barred from having contact with the Department of Commerce or related entities as he serves his sentence under conditions laid out in a plea agreement.

Prosecutors urged a stiffer punishment, asking the court to impose a 20-year prison sentence with 10 years suspended, arguing that Allen’s years-long scheme was a serious breach of public trust that demanded a lengthy custodial term. Deputy County Attorney Kevin Downs told the court that every defendant in similar embezzlement and financial-crimes cases submitted for comparison had received multi-year prison time and said a 10-year effective prison term was warranted to deter others from stealing public funds.

“He was the one that made this happen. He greased the wheels to steal from people,” Downs said. “This sentence sends a message to people. The people that work in any state agency, god forbid, that if you steal there will be significant consequence.”

Allen’s attorney asked Seeley for a lengthy but largely suspended sentence, arguing that a shorter period of incarceration — about two years, roughly double that imposed on co-defendant Casey Jack Steinke — would still hold Allen accountable while allowing him to work and pay restitution more quickly. The defense said Allen has suffered enough with the public humiliation and collateral consequences, including the loss of his career, voting rights and ability to serve on a jury or possess firearms.

Brenda Elias, chief legal counsel for the Montana Department of Commerce, told the court Allen had been a long-time state employee with significant autonomy as the Heritage Commission’s director and had been compensated for his work. She said Allen abused trust, manipulating people and resources.

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars that should have gone to preserve Montana’s heritage were diverted to Mr. Allen’s personal use,” Elias said.

Elias said Allen served as executive director from 2012 to 2024 and said the Heritage Commission has never been financially self-sufficient, relying heavily on bed tax revenue and other support from the Department of Commerce.

“The Heritage Commission continues to realize the impact of these crimes to this day, and it will take many years for the Commission to recover,” Elias said.

Detective Nathan Casey of the Helena Police Department, a veteran investigator in financial crimes, testified that he was contacted by Commerce employees in mid-2024 after they uncovered significant irregularities, prompting a wide-ranging probe. Casey said investigators ultimately reviewed roughly 744 pages of documents which included invoices, contracts and procurement justifications tied to a state-issued purchasing card controlled by Allen.

According to earlier court records, Allen used his position as head of the Heritage Commission to channel roughly $350,000 in commission funds to Steinke between 2020 and 2024, often through invoices for work that was not legitimately performed. In addition to those payments, investigators found evidence that Allen used public money to cover rent, educational expenses and other personal costs, and that Steinke lived rent-free in Reeder’s Alley, one of the commission’s historic properties, during the scheme.

Steinke, who was charged with accountability for theft by embezzlement and felony money laundering, previously pleaded guilty to one embezzlement-related charge and the money laundering count under a plea deal that called for prosecutors to recommend a 20-year prison sentence with 15 years suspended. As part of that agreement, Steinke agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution, including a $20,000 upfront payment at sentencing.

The embezzlement case comes as the Heritage Commission, which manages historic properties, is facing financial pressure. According to reporting from the Daily Montanan, the Commission is obligated to provide $1.1 million annually to the state but has only generated an average of about $750,000 in recent years, leaving less available for capital improvements than needed to maintain historic buildings.

Allen, 49, told the court he accepted full responsibility for his actions, saying he was ashamed and that the crimes were an aberration from how he had otherwise lived his life. He described the embarrassment his children have faced as his case played out publicly, and said he hopes to work and resume making restitution payments.

“I apologize to my friends and to my community,” Allen said. “I’m incredibly ashamed of the actions.”

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

15 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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