A Montana woman who stole $700,000 from her elderly mother, including pawning a silver bar, and used the ill-gotten money for plastic surgery, tattoos, and other spending was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft crimes.
Roxanna Rae Lewis-Stella, 60, of Billings, also used her father’s credit cards after his death, piling up $14,000 in fraudulent purchases and forging a $12,505 life insurance check given to her husband’s son, according to U.S. Attorney for Montana Jesse Laslovich, who announced the sentencing on June 6.
According to prosecutors, the Montana lady fabricated 70 of her mother’s checks while caring for her in Lewiston from November 2021 to July 2023.
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“In one instance, Lewis-Stella attempted to cash a fake cheque worth $500,000. Lewis-Stella also reused checks by changing the numbers and depositing them twice. To conceal her activities, Lewis-Stella called banks and impersonated her mother, intercepting sent financial statements before she could receive them.
Lewis-Stella also stole and pawned a 100-ounce silver bar from her mother, used her father’s credit cards after his death to charge $14,000 for personal expenses, and stole and forged a $12,505 life insurance check written to her husband’s son, according to court documents and a press release.
“Lewis-Stella used the money for clothes, travel, entertainment, restaurants, online shopping, cosmetic procedures, and tattoos,” according to prosecutors.
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Lewis-Stella’s mother was forced to sell her home and go into an assisted care facility, according to prosecutors.
Lewis-Stella could have faced up to 20 years in jail on the allegations. She was compelled to pay $725,145 and sentenced to three years of federal probation.
Lasolovich stated that the older theft “shocks the conscience.”