BILLINGS — A Montana man who defrauded an Australian oil company out of more than $567,000 has been sentenced to a year and a half in prison.
The Billings Gazette reports 45-year-old Dalton Hallgren was sentenced Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He also was ordered to pay $567,427 in restitution.
Federal prosecutors say Hallgren lied about having a degree in petroleum engineering when he was hired as a manager at Central Petroleum Limited in November 2011. He also did not disclose that four months earlier he incorporated a business called Alpha Oilfield Services in Montana.
Hallgren was charged with causing Alpha to invoice Central for more than $500,000 to pay for oilfield equipment that Central never received. He also was accused of transferring money for personal use.