BILLINGS - A Forsyth woman pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that she defrauded customers through her insurance brokerage, Rosebud County Insurance, Inc., and stole customers' identities, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
Kileen Moria Hagadone, 57, was charged with six counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft in federal court in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan.
Hagadone was arrested Friday and booked into Yellowstone County jail. She was released Monday pending further proceedings.
Federal prosecutors alleged in the indictment that Hagadone devised a scheme from 2020 through April 2023 to take payments from customers and keep the money for herself instead of transmitting the money to insurance companies.
Hagadone and her company had a trust account with First State Bank of Forsyth designed to receive these payments, according to Laslovich.
In some cases, Hagadone allegedly withdrew money from the account for her personal use, while in others, she moved to the money to her business account, according to Laslovich.
Hagadone allegedly stole the identities of several customers by forging their signatures on third-party financing contracts to conceal her actions, according to Laslovich.
Among the victims was Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, which paid about $200,000 in insurance premiums but did not receive coverage.
Montana Insurance Commissioner Troy Downing obtained a court order July 12 suspending Hagadone's insurance license.
If convicted, Hagadone faces a maximum penalty for wire fraud of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The penalty for aggravated identity theft is a mandatory minimum two years in prison, consecutive to any other punishment, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release.
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