Columbia Falls woman sentenced in $1 million Ponzi scheme case

Flathead County District Judge Amy Eddy Thursday sentenced Catherine Ann Finberg of Columbia Falls to 40 years in prison with all but 10 years suspended for running a Ponzi scheme that ultimately bilked local investors of more than $1 million.

The sentence was a plea deal reached by state prosecutors and Finberg’s attorneys. In the deal, Finberg pleaded guilty to a felony count of embezzlement, common scheme, guilty to operating a pyramid promotional scheme and guilty to two counts of fraudulent security practices in exchange for the state dropping a charge of failure to register as a securities broker.

Finberg is also required to pay back more than $767,000 to her victims.

She will be eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years.

During her sentencing hearing, Finberg said she was sorry for what she had done.

“There’s not enough time in the day to express my remorse,” she said. She thanked her family, friends and defense attorneys for their support.

“I can assure you I will never be here again,” she said.

She also spoke to her victims.

“I never intended to hurt anyone, and now I have hurt many,” she said. “I accept responsibility for my actions.”

She said she never intended to lose anyone’s money. She also noted that recent vacations she took were paid by her friend, Bernie, not by her.

She said she plans on repaying the money that was lost.

“My only hope is to repay my friends their principal,” she said.

Some of Finberg’s victims had written the court, asking that she not serve time in jail so she could work and repay her debt.

Eddy said she understood that argument, but ultimately rejected it.

“She has stolen over $1 million from this community,” Eddy said.

The embezzlement included $140,000 she took from a developmentally disabled man in Columbia Falls whose account she had control over. Finberg took money from investors and used it for day-trading stocks, but the investments, particularly in the past few years, lost money. In turn, she used money from other investors and the disabled man’s account to cover the losses and pay her own bills, an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commissioner of the State Auditor’s office found.

According to the plea agreement, there were 13 local victims in her case. One local couple invested more than $136,000 with Finberg.

The investigation into Finberg began after Columbia Falls Police Department received a complaint of missing money from the developmentally disabled man in January 2016. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also looked into the matter after Glacier Bank notified the agency of possible illegal activity with Finberg’s accounts.

The FBI then notified the state auditor’s office, which took over the investigation.

After the sentencing, state Securities and Exchange Commission prosecutor Barbara Harris spoke to why the state sought a prison term in the case, despite the wishes of some of the victims.

“It is the state’s experience that people who owe restitution do not necessarily pay restitution when only on probation,” Harris said.

Harris also said the sentence could be a deterrent for others.

“The fact that people go to prison in white collar crimes makes a difference,” she said.

Finberg was immediately taken into custody following the sentencing.