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Dan Astin | Livingston Enterprise  August 21, 2025 LIVINGSTON — James Brown, Montana’s state auditor and commissioner of securities and insurance, visited Livingston and Big Timber this week and warned the public about scams involving cryptocurrency. “We are seeing a huge uptick in fraud schemes involving digital currencies in 2025,” Brown told the Livingston Enterprise … Read more

David Jay | KTVQ Billings Photo by: KTVQ photo BILLINGS – Scams are costing Montana residents millions of dollars, according to state officials. One of the newer scams deals with cryptocurrency ATMs, which recently prompted the Billings Police Department to send out a warning, one echoed by Montana State Auditor James Brown. “They can get hard … Read more

NBC MontanaPhil Howard MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana State Auditor James Brown is warning Montanans to stay cautious when investing in cryptocurrency or other digital currencies. Brown says his office received an uptick in complaints from residents who are victims of digital currency scams, which he says is due to the lack of regulations. “We’re going after … Read more

Montana State Auditor James Brown (R-MT) served as host for insurance commissioners from all across the country in meetings that kicked off Tuesday in Big Sky. We got the chance to join Brown and other commissioners from across our region, including the President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), North Dakota’s own Jon Godfread. … Read more

Livingston EnterpriseDan Astin Enterprise Staff Writer James Brown, Montana’s state auditor and commissioner of securities and insurance, visited Livingston and Big Timber this week and warned the public about scams involving cryptocurrency. “We are seeing a huge uptick in fraud schemes involving digital currencies in 2025,” Brown told the Enterprise on Tuesday. His office serves … Read more

Phil Howard | NBC Montana Montana State Auditor James Brown is announcing a settlement with Vanguard Marketing Corporation for improper retirement fund distributions. The settlement follows a multi-state investigation that started in 2021, when the investment company changed its investment strategy for its Targeted Retirement Fund. The company failed to disclose the change to investors, … Read more

Political forces are lining up behind legislation, namely the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, or FIRM Act, that would rein in regulators’ abilities to pressure banks into denying services to legal but disfavored industries. The case that certain companies, particularly those in the crypto industry, were getting debanked by association looked improbable not long ago. Mounting evidence to … Read more

By Phil Drake, Helena Independent Record James Brown, Montana state auditor and commissioner of securities and insurance, said Monday he sent a letter to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara offering assistance to help deal with the aftermath of the devastating wildfires. Brown, recently sworn in as commissioner, told Lara that while he was still learning … Read more

GREAT FALLS — November 17-23 is International Fraud Awareness Week, which serves as an important reminder to be aware of potential scams sent your way. “In 2023, $12.5 billion was lost to fraud,” explained Blair Stapleton, the Public Outreach Coordinator for the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, “And that’s nearly quadrupled since 2019.” Stapleton explains … Read more