Bigfork woman charged with felony theft

A Bigfork woman has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a customer while working at a Kalispell tax preparation business.

Leilani Louise Albertson, 29, was charged with felony theft this week in Flathead County District Court. According to court documents, she allegedly transferred $4,777 to herself from a bank account owned by a customer at Liberty Tax Service. The owners say she has been fired.

The customer first spotted the theft in March, according to the documents. He told police the money had been transferred into an account belonging to Albertson. The customer recognized the name because she had helped him prepare taxes just weeks before.

In an interview with police, Albertson allegedly admitted to the theft. She allegedly told police that she used the money to pay down her credit card debt and initiate a credit check for her and her husband.

Susan Robison, co-owner of Liberty Tax, said the news of Albertson’s arrest “broadsided” them.

“When we found out it was done through information she got from our office, I tell you I didn’t sleep for nights,” she said.

Albertson had been hired as a seasonal tax preparer for this year. Robison said Liberty went through the normal application procedure and nothing criminal came up, although the business does not run background checks on prospective employees.  

Albertson had a history of finance-related crimes. She was on probation for a felony conviction of issuing a bad check and was in the middle of the court process for a separate felony charge of deceptive practices in 2014. 

In the latter case, she allegedly charged more than $50,000 on stolen credit cards found in a lost wallet, according to court documents. She pleaded not guilty in December and the case was headed for a jury trial in late April. 

Albertson was fired in March after police contacted Robison’s husband, who co-owns the business.

“We have never and will never compromise in any way,” Robison said. “We would never hire anybody that we had any idea that they have a criminal record.”

The latest alleged theft took place on March 18, according to court documents. After the police investigation, the Flathead County Attorney’s Office filed to revoke Albertson’s release in the 2014 case. An arrest warrant was issued and Albertson was booked into jail on Thursday on $50,000 bail. By Friday, she was no longer on the jail roster.

Albertson is set to be arraigned on April 9. She faces a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to 10 years in prison.