COEUR D’ALENE – A 60-month federal prison sentence awaits Laurecene (Lori) Barnes Isenberg, 65, of Coeur d’Alene, for her role in a $570,000 wire fraud scheme that bilked the North Idaho Housing Coalition. U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced the harsh penalties on April 30, 2019.
Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge handed down the sentence, ordering Isenberg to repay $579,495.75 in restitution and pay a $20,000 fine. Post-prison, she will be on supervised release for three years, during which she must report to a federal probation officer.
Isenberg’s scheme was detailed at her sentencing hearing by the North Idaho Housing Coalition President and an Idaho Housing and Finance Association Program Manager, who highlighted how her theft hindered efforts to provide affordable housing for low-income families. The officials also pointed out that volunteer boards rely on honest employees like Isenberg, whose sophisticated fraud involved setting up companies in her daughter’s names.
Isenberg confessed to embezzling $579,495.75 from the North Idaho Housing Coalition, which received federal HUD grants. She was the executive director at the time of the theft, using false invoices and expenses for payment. Her daughters, Tracy Tesch, 34, of Rathdrum, and April Barnes, 42, of Coeur d’Alene, were sentenced on May 1, 2019, for their involvement in the conspiracy to commit program theft. Tesch received three years’ probation and $15,356.75 in restitution, while Barnes faced one month of home detention, three years’ probation, and $11,585.92 in restitution.
In all, four daughters pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge, with a collective restitution order exceeding $58,000. Judge Lodge emphasized that Isenberg’s crime impacted many vulnerable individuals.
The FBI and the Coeur d’Alene City Police Department conducted the investigation.
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Key Facts
- State: Idaho
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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