Ex-BLM employee sentenced to prison for stealing money by forging government checks

MISSOULA - A former Bureau of Land Management employee who admitted to stealing thousands of dollars by forging a co-worker's signature on government checks was sentenced today to two years and seven months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Adrian Anthony Aragon, 53, of Butte, pleaded guilty in February to theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The court also ordered $8,600 restitution.

In court documents, the government alleged that Aragon worked for the BLM in 2019 and 2020 until he was federally prosecuted for repeatedly using his employee travel card for personal expenses. After being released from custody and while on federal supervised release, Aragon forged the signature of a former co-worker on stolen BLM checks and incurred more than $10,000 in losses in the co-worker's name. Aragon used the stolen money for personal expenses including cash withdrawals, bills, restaurants, grocery stores and Amazon purchases. The former co-worker said Aragon had access to her checks during his employment and made schedule changes that resulted in him being the first or last person to leave the office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The Department of Interior Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

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