Date: October 13, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov BILLINGS — A Glendive woman today admitted to defrauding a man of more than $119,000 in a scheme in which she managed his finances and used his money for her personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Gina Larae Mann, aka Gina Larae Neva pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Mann faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud crime and a mandatory minimum two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, on the aggravated identity theft crime. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. Sentencing was set for Feb. 16, 2023 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Mann was detained pending further proceedings. The government alleged in court documents that Mann met the victim, identified as John Doe, after Doe's wife died. Doe's wife had been responsible for the household's finances, and Mann volunteered to fulfill that role for Doe. Mann convinced Doe, who preferred to write paper checks, to obtain a debit card and register for online banking at Glendive BN Federal Credit Union. Mann then, without Doe's knowledge or permission, used Doe's personal identifying information to open several new credit card accounts in his name. Mann proceeded to use those accounts for her own personal expenses. In addition, Mann made several transfers from the credit union account to pay down outstanding balances on the credit cards. Mann's scheme began in early 2018 and continued until late 2019 when Doe discovered the fraud after receiving overdraft notices from the credit union. Mann misappropriated approximately $119,269 in Doe's name. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation.
