HELENA, Mont. – Eleven Montana victims of financial crimes are receiving a combined $112,723 in restitution assistance from State Auditor Matt Rosendale this week.
The payments from the State Auditor’s Securities Restitution Assistance Fund were mailed on Friday. The Securities Restitution Assistance Fund is funded by the securities industry and penalties against persons and companies that committed securities violations. None of the payments come from taxpayer dollars. The Restitution Assistance Fund is designed to help backfill victims’ losses when full restitution cannot be secured from the perpetrators of financial crimes.
The 11 payments were made to victims of four different securities cases against the following perpetrators:
Kenneth Hatzenbeller of Great Falls
This week’s restitution payments range from a low of $1,000 to a high of $35,000 per person. Restitution Assistance payments are based on the percentage of a victim’s losses and the victim’s age.
“Montanans should always be vigilant, report suspected fraud, and be incredibly wary of financial promises that seem too good to be true,” Rosendale said. “While I’m happy these restitution assistance payments will help cover some of the victims’ losses, the best thing is to prevent fraud before money is transferred. Once a victim loses their money to a scheme, it’s often impossible to recover the full amount.”
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