Kalispell businessman gets prison

Kalispell businessman David Tacke, convicted in June of a dozen fraud and money-laundering charges, was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday.

"The government is very pleased" with the sentence, said prosecuting U.S. Attorney Kris McLean of Missoula. "It sends the right message … scam artists beware."

The charges came from investments people made in a variety of corporations controlled by Tacke's company, VenueTech System. He was convicted by a federal jury in Missoula last summer of one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud for interstate investment communications. Those convictions made possible the convictions on 10 counts of money laundering stemming from transactions between bank accounts.

VenueTech was promoted as a manufacturer of binoculars that fans would rent at sports stadiums.

U.S. Attorney Kris McLean charged that Tacke did not register securities with the state auditor's office as required and that he was not registered to sell securities.

Tacke also failed to provide investors with necessary disclosures, detailed financial statements and reports about how money was spent, along with information about tax liens or government orders to stop selling securities.

McLean said that investors lost $1.8 million that Tacke diverted to a separate entity called Quelle, which was essentially "a private checking account" Tacke used to buy a house, a car, speculative stocks, and other items.

Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on Tuesday ordered Tacke to pay about $967,000 restitution.

There are 266 victims in the case, McLean said. The case focused on about 40 who sent in required claim forms, he said.

One point at issue Tuesday was why Tacke was represented by court-appointed counsel. Tacke reportedly told his probation officer that he is worth $1.195 million. But he also told U.S. Magistrate Leif Erickson that he has only $10,000 annual income. Attorney Greg Jackson of Helena was appointed to represent Tacke, at taxpayers' cost. On Tuesday, Molloy ordered a hearing before Erickson to see whether Tacke can pay for his attorney.

Witnesses for Tacke said VenueTech is still in operation, having recently installed its binoculars at the Trailblazers' Rose Garden in Portland. Asked how much profit the business has made there, one witness answered it's about $400.

Tacke was released to electronic monitoring Tuesday and must report to jail in two weeks.

McLean said he is happy with the outcome of the case.

"White-collar crime is difficult to prove. It is satisfying to see the sentence fit the crime. This one does."