Montana

Montana receives federal grant to fight benefit fraud

Published

11 months ago

November 28, 2024

Montana receives federal grant to fight benefit fraud

Jonathan Ambarian

HELENA (KPAX) — Montana leaders have received a federal grant that they say will give them more tools for detecting fraud in applications for public benefits.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is receiving $424,388 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They’ll use it to set up a system that uses technology to identify potentially fraudulent online applications.

“All states across the U.S are reporting an uptick of online fraud, and this is going to give Montana the opportunity to review Montana’s standing with that,” said Heather Smith, DPHHS’ Program Compliance Bureau chief.

The federal grant is focused on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – commonly known as “food stamps.” However, Montana has a single assistance application that covers SNAP, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF program, Medicaid eligibility and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, so the new system will also affect those programs.

DPHHS says some examples of fraud in these programs could include applicants not reporting all members of their household, not reporting their income has increased or continuing to receive benefits after moving out of state.

Smith said the new system will flag indicators that a case may have a high probability of fraud. For example, that would include applications from people living outside Montana and a high number of applications that come from the same computer or use the same phone number.

“Digital transactions are becoming so prevalent in everyday life – you know, everyone seems to have a cell phone, text message, email,” she said. “We’re submitting all sorts of applications and information online, purchasing online, and the digital information is going to be very important for us.”

Smith said the new technology will only tell DPHHS they may need to look further at a case, and they’ll investigate further before taking action. She acknowledged there could be false positives, like someone applying from a relative’s computer or many people using a computer at the library because they don’t have another way to access the internet.

DPHHS will spend the next few months putting together and testing the system, with hopes of implementing it by summer of 2025.

“It will not affect the user at all; they won’t see any different steps,” said Smith. “It’ll just be our ability to capture and utilize that data as it comes in.”

Smith said there is fraud in these programs, though she said she couldn’t give an estimate of how prevalent it is.

“For us, any amount is a high amount,” she said.

She said applying for this grant was part of DPHHS’ commitment to be good stewards of taxpayers’ money.

The department said in a statement announcing the grant that they received 1,528 referrals for potential fraud during the 2024 fiscal year, with the vast majority being for SNAP eligibility.

They said 241 people were disqualified from SNAP for program violations. DPHHS reported 1,625 referrals and 280 SNAP disqualifications in the 2023 fiscal year, and 2,035 referrals and 320 disqualifications in 2022.

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Montana

Missoula Woman Arrested After False Claims And Drug Discovery

Published

1 hour ago

October 31, 2025

Press Room

Missoula Woman Arrested After False Claims And Drug Discovery

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – On October 28, 2025, a Missoula Police Department Officer was dispatched to a possible physical disturbance at Council Grove Apartments. The caller, 41-year-old Danielle Auwen, reported someone was beating up her “baby-daddy.” The officer arrived on scene and contacted Auwen. The officer confirmed there was no threat or physical disturbance taking place.

Auwen advised that she heard people taunting her from inside the walls of the apartment and was shaking and stuttering. The officer observed that Auwen was displaying signs of paranoia due to drug intoxication. Dispatch advised that Auwen was previously permanently trespassed from the Council Groves Apartments.

Another officer advised that the apartment manager wanted Auwen removed and charged. Auwen advised that she was aware of the trespass, but stated she thought it was cancelled. Another officer pointed out trespass paperwork was taped to the front door of the apartment where Auwen was located. Auwen was arrested and asked the officer to grab her bag.

Officers Searched Her Bag at the Jail

The officer determined Auwen was on probation and contacted the Probation and Parole Office. The on-call Probation Officer requested that Auwen be violated for a probation violation and search the bag Auwen requested be brought to the jail. During a search of the bag, the officer located eleven yellow pills, determined to be Gabapentin. The officer contacted the PO, who advised Auwen was not prescribed Gabapentin.

According to court documents, Auwen currently has an open case and a pending Petition to Revoke in Montana’s Fourth Judicial District Court before the Honorable Leslie Halligan. Given that Auwen is now charged with an additional felony, while violating her conditions of release by Missoula County District Court and her conditions of probation, the State requested a warrant in the amount of $25,000 be issued for Auwen’s arrest.

READ MORE: Missoula News – Crime Reports

Auwen is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal trespass to property. According to the jail roster, her bond was set at $50,000 for a probation violation and $25,000 for the drug charge.

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

Cities with the most UFO sightings in Montana

Stacker compiled a ranking of cities with the most UFO sightings in Montana using data from the National UFO Reporting Center.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

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Montana

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

Published

21 hours ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.

“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.

(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina

Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.

All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.

“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”

Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.

“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”

Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.

“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.

In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.

“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”

Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”

“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.

Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.

“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”

Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.

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