MISSOULA — A former Bureau of Land Management employee from Butte who admitted to stealing thousands of dollars by forging a co-worker’s signature on government checks was sentenced Wednesday in Missoula Federal Court to two years and seven months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The court also ordered $8,600 restitution.
The defendant, Adrian Anthony Aragon, 53, pleaded guilty in February to theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.
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, according to court documents. 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.
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The investigation was conducted by the Department of Interior Office of Inspector General.
