Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Nov. 23 was:

Ralph Alan Degele, 64, of Worden, on charges of false statement during a firearms transaction and receipt of a firearm by person under indictment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Degele faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Degele was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-81.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Nov. 22 was:

Marilyn Ann Wilson, 57, of Missoula, on charges of health care fraud, theft of government money, false statement to a government agency, false statement affecting Social Security benefits and Social Security fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Wilson faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Wilson was released pending further proceedings. The Social Security Administration and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-50.

The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.