Columbia Falls Woman Sentenced for Stealing Money from Firearms Manufacturer in Check Scheme
Teri Anne Bell, the former finance manager at Falkor SID Inc., was sentenced to five months in federal prison for embezzling $159,000
By Maggie Dresser
A 58-year-old Columbia Falls woman who admitted to embezzling approximately $159,000 from a Kalispell firearms manufacturer where she was employed as the company’s finance manager was sentenced Tuesday to five months in federal prison followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. She is also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and $174,572 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Teri Anne Bell of Columbia Falls pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge before U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy in June.
According to court documents, Bell worked as the finance manager for Falkor SID Inc., a firearms manufacturing and distribution business in Kalispell, and stole from her employer between May 2018 and December 2021.
As part of her professional duties, Bell received pre-signed checks to facilitate payments to Falkor vendors. She also had access to the company’s bank account and accounting software.
Falkor’s owners suspected she was stealing money from the company and conducted an audit, which determined that Bell completed 45 unauthorized transactions, totaling $159,131, according to court records.
Bell wrote checks from Falkor to herself or her creditors and then edited the payments in an accounting system so they appeared to be for legitimate business expenses, records state. She used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including hotels in Las Vegas and at Quinn’s Hot Springs, while also making payments to retail and liquor stores, collection agencies and streaming services.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.