Former Helena property manager, Capital High cheer coach gets 5 years for embezzlement, elder exploitation

A former Capital High School cheer coach who embezzled thousands from "vulnerable" residents as a property manager was sentenced Wednesday to the Department of Corrections for five years.

Susan Halls Skinner appeared before Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan after pleading guilty Dec. 4 to felony theft by embezzlement and felony elder exploitation.

Skinner, also known as "Sue Bannon," was the property manager at Pheasant Glen and other properties and managed 87 housing units since 2015, court documents state. Skinner collected rent from residents and was to keep an accounting of all the rent collected. The Ptarmigan Lane property for low-income residents is run by the Rocky Mountain Development Council. 

Elizabeth Mogstad, Skinner's supervisor at Rocky Mountain Development Council, took the witness stand to read a letter.

"You pretended to be aloof and disorganized in order to distract me from what was really going on," Mogstad said. "... It was an act to distract me while you stole money. This was not an impulse. This was not a simple error in judgment."

Mogstad was questioned by a county prosecutor about how the incident impacted her personally. She said they received anonymous phone calls claiming Mogstad knew about the embezzlement and supported it.

"It's very hard to be manipulated. It's been very hard on me. I always took pride in the way I did my job," Mogstad said. "... I definitely broke down in tears, I'm not ashamed to say that, more than once."

Court documents filed June 13, 2023, in Helena Justice Court listed 16 victims with ages ranging from 20s to 90. The daughter of one of the victims said that she knew Skinner as “Sue Bannon,” who was her cheer coach at the high school. 

Mogstad contacted law enforcement Feb. 12, 2023, and said there were multiple instances where Skinner collected cash payments from clients and did not credit their accounts, court documents state.

It was also believed that Skinner applied for Montana Emergency Rental Assistance benefits on behalf of clients and collected cash payments even though no rent was due, the affidavit states.

Mogstad contacted a 65-year-old tenant about his rent payment and he told her he wanted to pay in cash, but was told cash was not accepted. He told Mogstad he always paid in cash.

In September, his account was overdue $8,912.

As a part of Skinner's sentencing she was ordered to pay $71,343 in restitution and had two checks for $20,000 each at the hearing Wednesday.

Some spoke in her defense.

Susan Ames said that her friend of over 20 years had great love for others around her.

"Someone once said in scary times, look for the helpers. Sue has established herself as that helper throughout her life. It is her nature," Ames said.

Another defense witness was Skinner's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Ginger Casagrande. Casagrande said Skinner's sobriety date was May 12, 2021, and worked with her through the "12 steps."

She echoed the comments made by Ames that Skinner was a genuinely caring person who was interested in what others did in their lives.

The events that lead to Skinner's sentencing took place after her sobriety date and Casagrande said when people are in early recovery from alcoholism, they tend to fill the void by exercising too much, gambling and other activities.

"If you felt the sunshine that she puts on people and having any sort of interest in their life, it was true," Casagrande said.

The defendant offered a statement to the court prior to sentencing.

Skinner read a letter, saying she had remorse for her actions and understood how many people she harmed.

"I want to apologize to my family and friends and tell them I am so sorry and that I am the good person that they know and love. And to this court, RMDC and the victims of my crimes, I regret so many things including those conversations that were manipulative and selfish on my part," she said.

She added that she violated the trust of those around her.

"To become trustworthy, you have to take trustworthy actions," she said.

Menahan's sentence was less than the prosecution's recommendation of 20 years with 10 suspended, but more than the defense's recommendation of 10 years with all suspended.

Lori Ladas, executive director of the nonprofit RMDC, and Mogstad agreed justice was served.

"It's hard to be on this end. There's lots of stress involved with the idea of sending someone to incarceration. It's very stressful and it doesn't feel good," Ladas said after the sentencing.

"Sometimes doing what's right is not easy," she added. Mogstad said that she knows Skinner's family and she felt sorry for them.

Ladas said the group has made amends with the community and made tenants whole financially, while Mogstad added they made sure tenants understood they were not impacted by the issues.

Moving forward, RMDC will be making adjustments to avoid another instance like this.

"We've implemented different controls that were not, unfortunately, in place at the time and we've got a little higher level of segregation of duties in place that we feel confident would prevent it," Ladas said.

Some Capital High School cheerleaders and members of the Rocky Mountain Development Council were in the courtroom.