U.S. Attorney’s Office Recovers $848,858 for Victims of Bozeman Dairy Fraud Scheme

Billings, Montana — August 7, 2026 — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana has recovered $848,858.72 for victims of a financial fraud scheme carried out at a Bozeman dairy cooperative between 2007 and 2008.

Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith announced the recovery after the office’s Financial Litigation Unit located proceeds that convicted defendant Jeffrey Nicholas McCown was entitled to receive from the sale of a business and real property.

McCown was a manager at Country Classic Dairy, a producer-owned cooperative based in Bozeman. The fraud began in October 2007, when McCown and three other employees started using cooperative funds to cover personal purchases and reimbursements.

The other employees were Michael Ernest Monforton, the dairy’s chief executive officer; Jeanette Sabrina McCown, its bookkeeper; and Scott Michael McCown, its shop manager.

The conduct occurred before Country Classic Dairy merged with Seattle-based Darigold in 2010.

Investigators determined that Jeffrey McCown fraudulently used a cooperative credit card to purchase and maintain vehicles, trailers, boats, firearms and a recreational vehicle for personal use. He also obtained cash advances through cooperative cards and financial accounts.

McCown concealed the transactions by recording the personal purchases and cash withdrawals as legitimate business expenses. The false records allowed cooperative money to be diverted while making the transactions appear connected to normal business operations.

Following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and FBI, Jeffrey McCown, Michael Ernest Monforton, Jeanette Sabrina McCown and Scott Michael McCown were convicted in 2011 of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Jeffrey McCown was sentenced to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered McCown and Monforton to pay $1.16 million in restitution.

The latest recovery did not result from a new criminal prosecution. It came through the continued enforcement of the existing restitution judgment entered after the convictions.

The Financial Litigation Unit learned that McCown was entitled to a substantial payout connected to the sale of a business and real property. The unit acted to garnish those funds before they could be distributed to him and secured $848,858.72 for the outstanding restitution obligation.

Restitution is intended to compensate victims for losses directly connected to criminal conduct. It is separate from imprisonment and supervised release, and an unpaid obligation can remain subject to enforcement long after a defendant completes the custodial portion of a sentence.

Todd Wacaser, acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office, said the recovery represented an important step toward restoring losses suffered by the victims.

Wacaser said the result demonstrates that the effort to obtain justice and restitution can continue many years after a financial offense occurs. He also emphasized the agency’s commitment to tracing money, locating assets and working with law enforcement partners to recover funds whenever possible.

The recovery illustrates the role financial investigations can continue to play after a criminal case concludes. Conviction and sentencing establish criminal accountability, but identifying assets and enforcing restitution orders determine whether victims ultimately recover the money they lost.

Financial litigation personnel can examine property interests, business proceeds and other assets belonging to defendants with unpaid obligations. In this case, information concerning the business and real-estate transaction created an opportunity to collect nearly $850,000 that remained owed under the restitution judgment.

Special Agent in Charge Justin Gerken of the FBI Billings Field Office said financial fraud causes damage beyond the immediate monetary loss because it undermines trust within organizations and communities.

Gerken said individuals who exploit trusted positions for personal gain can harm the organization involved as well as its employees, customers and the communities that depend upon it. He reaffirmed the FBI’s commitment to investigating financial offenses and holding responsible individuals accountable.

The original scheme involved senior employees occupying positions that gave them access to cooperative finances, payment cards, accounting records and reimbursement systems. That access enabled personal spending to be presented as business activity and concealed within the organization’s financial records.

The recovery closes Jeffrey McCown’s remaining restitution obligation, but it does not change the convictions, sentences or underlying findings in the case. It completes a substantial part of the financial accountability ordered by the federal court and returns funds to the victims whose losses remained unpaid.

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