Woman sentenced in Kalispell bank fraud case

A Kalispell woman has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison following her conviction for embezzling more than $227,000 while the bookkeeper for two Kalispell companies.

Judy L. Hammack, 47, also was ordered to pay almost $223,000 in restitution during her sentencing hearing last week in front of U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula.

Hammack, who was convicted of bank fraud, stole more than $70,000 from Mark Construction between 2004 and 2006 and more than $157,000 from Nielsen Masonry Inc. between 2006 and 2007, according to federal court papers.

Prosecutors believe Hammack — who contracted her services as an accountant to several Kalispell-area businesses — embezzled the money by inflating her paychecks, writing checks to herself then covering her tracks with accounting software, forging her employers’ signatures on fraudulent checks, and having her employers pre-sign checks before entering fraudulent amounts.

In January 2008, Hammack was confronted by her supervisors at Nielsen Masonry after they discovered accounting discrepancies in the company’s financial records and commissioned an audit that found more than $157,000 missing.

Hammack told prosecutors she stole at least $113,000 from the company, but then reportedly contacted her other clients and denied having stolen from any other businesses.

However, in late February or early March 2008, Hammack contacted Mark Construction and admitted embezzling money from that company as well. An audit revealed Hammack stole more than $70,000 over a two-year period, according to court papers.