Jury finds California woman man guilty of defrauding local bank of over $170,000

MISSOULA - A California woman who defrauded a local bank of over $170,000 was found guilty by a federal jury today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Following a one-and-a-half-day trial, Kristin Renee Zelonish Edwards, 38, was found guilty of four counts of bank fraud. Edwards faces 30 years of imprisonment on each count, a $1,000,000 fine, and five years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for June 23, 2026. Edwards was released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents and at trial that Kristin Edwards defrauded Glacier Bank of over $170,000 by depositing 12 fraudulent savings bonds at four different bank branches in Northwest Montana. Edwards traveled from California to Montana to deposit the savings bonds, making four trips between October 2022 and January 2023. Glacier Bank received notice in February 2023 from the United States Treasury Department that one of the savings bonds deposited by Edwards was fraudulent. Glacier Bank's security officer called Edwards and informed her of the fraudulent bond. Her response was that she found the savings bonds while going through boxes of her deceased grandmother's items with her mother.

Witnesses testified Edwards never received bonds from her grandmother's estate. The savings bonds deposited by Edwards that were alleged to have been purchased by her grandmother had issue dates as early as 1980-over 6 years before Edwards was born. The fraudulent savings bonds have Edwards' Social Security Number printed on them, which means, if Edwards' story were true, her grandmother bought the bonds in Edwards' name and with Edwards' Social Security Number six years before Edwards was born.

The U.S. Secret Service analyzed the savings bonds and found they had several common defects and were not made with the printing presses used for authentic savings bonds. Edwards' fraudulent savings bonds also share a common source with other fraudulent savings bonds that were deposited in Idaho and Colorado by Edwards' unindicted co-conspirator.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katy Stack and Brian Lowney prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service.

XXX