BILLINGS – An obscure California company run by an ex-convict with a history of fraud convictions is dropping its purported bid to take over a Montana jail — days after state officials launched an investigation and several key participants backed away from the eyebrow raising proposal.
American Police Force spokeswoman Becky Shay said Friday the deal with Hardin had “gone sour” after press revelations about the criminal past of company founder Michael Hilton.
The company faced a Monday deadline from the Montana attorney general’s office to demonstrate that it had financial backers.
Hilton has a history of fraud and theft going back at least two decades. He signed a contract in September to take over the jail and run local law enforcement but it was never ratified.
Hilton acknowledged offering a job to the wife of the executive director of Two Rivers Authority, the city’s economic development arm. That official, Greg Smith, resigned Monday.