Woman pleads guilty to theft from CSKT program

MISSOULA — A Ronan woman admitted to stealing nearly $10,000 from a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal program in federal court last week.

On Sept. 22, 2011, Leah Daniell Morton, plead guilty to theft from a Tribal organization. According to a press release from United States Attorney’s Office, Morton neglected to report her household’s true income to the Salish Kootenai Housing Authority’s (SKHA) Tenant Based Assistance program (TBA), therefore earning $9,583 in housing assistance to which she was not entitled.

The press release states, in April 2006, the Morton household moved to a residence in Ronan and their rental subsidy was based on information provided on a March 29, 2006 questionnaire. Morton reported on that questionnaire that her only source of income was a Social Security Disability (SSI) payment for her son in the amount of $603 per month. In December 2008, Morton asked to transfer to a different residence. When the SKHA attempted to verify income in connection with that request, it discovered that Morton had been employed full-time by the Mountain View Care Center since July 2006.

The SKHA is an agency of the CSKT and receives funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the form of Indian Housing Block Grants. A HUD agent later discovered that Morton’s boyfriend had also been employed the vast majority of the time that the Morton household was receiving SKHA benefits. From the third quarter of 2006 until the second quarter of 2009, Morton and her boyfriend earned a total of $71,197 that they failed to report to the SKHA.

Morton was interviewed by a HUD agent on a few occasions and admitted that she did not report her income to the SKHA because she knew that her rent would increase. She also said that her boyfriend did not know about the income reporting requirements and merely signed the forms as she directed him, the press release states.

Morton faces possible penalties of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 5, 2012.  She is currently released on special conditions.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Inspector General’s Office.