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.”