Lisa Bennett, House District 55 Candidate, Files False Documents to Create 'Charity'
Commissioner of Political Practices Gallus files affidavit stating he did not incorporate charity and documents pertaining to the charity under his signature are unauthorized and false
By Denise Rivette
In researching her activities around election integrity and lack thereof (suing Carbon County over election records and continuing to maintain and install signs in violation of election laws), it was discovered that Lisa Bennett established a “charitable” organization after the flood of 2022 called Montana Concerned Citizens Foundation Fund (MCCFF). MCCFF was established by using, without permission, the signature of Chris Gallus (her then attorney), claiming Gallus as incorporator (a liability he states was never discussed and he would never have accepted), and fraudulently naming at least one person from Carbon County as a director without their knowledge.
A few weeks after an investigation into this charity was launched and two days after a copy of the charity’s 2024 annual report was obtained, an amended annual report was filed, purportedly by Lisa Bennett’s mother-in-law, removing Lisa Bennett as director and sole officer and removing Carbon County resident Sanford Langager as a director. Langager had no idea his name had been attached to the organization. In their place, Lisa’s teenaged daughter Nicole Bennett was listed as presiding officer and director, Lisa’s husband Albert (Chip) Bennett was listed as president and director and Karla Johnson, president of the Stillwater County branch of the Montana Federation of Republican Women, was listed as vice president and director. No tax return forms are recorded as having been filed with the Internal Revenue Service, although the IRS does currently have a backlog and it may not be available online yet. There is no public record or website information readily available showing donations received or moneys spent.
Upon finding out that he had been listed fraudulently as a director of the purported charity, Langager reported the matter to the Sheriff’s Office which referred the matter to the Secretary of State’s (SOS) Office which determined that because Langager had not suffered damages, there is nothing for them to do but correct the document.
When asked his thoughts on the situation, Langager stated, “I was not advised that I was on that on that committee or that I was a director. I knew nothing about it.” Demonstrating an astounding amount of grace, he added, “She has done good things, too, or tried to do some good things, but she just steps overboard and steps on a lot of people's toes and I just kind of don't want to be associated there anymore. She was with the Republican Party, and I was always at a lot of the meetings and, you know, trying to be an asset or assistance there. And she just kind of took over and overwhelmed everybody. So I'm no longer with that group. Yeah, I kind of don't want to be tied in there right now.”
When asked about his participation in MCCFF, Gallus stated that he was not involved in “any manner whatsoever.” He remembers Lisa calling him to ask what he would charge to set up a 501(c)(3) corporation and also let her know that she could do it herself by accessing the forms on the SOS website and modifying a stock version of articles of incorporation to suit her needs. After reviewing contemporaneous documents, Gallus was able to report he told Lisa that, if it was an emergency (the charity was originally touted to potential donors as a charity to help flood victims) she could put him down as a registered agent but that he would remove himself immediately, and she would have to find another to fill that position. He heard nothing more about it until he received documents shortly after incorporation and saw that he was listed on the documents. He contacted Lisa to remove him immediately.
No further communication took place on the subject between the parties until several weeks ago when Gallus received documents generated after the latest amended annual report was filed. Gallus, upon seeing that Lisa had signed his name on documents and continued to list him without permission as the incorporator, contacted the Secretary of State (SOS) and Lisa to insist the forms be corrected immediately. As of Monday, May 20, the situation had not been corrected. On May 28, Gallus filed an affidavit with the SOS stating that he never agreed to serve as incorporator, did not incorporate MCCFF himself and the documents filed with his signature were not signed by him.
Before he was appointed to his current position, Commissioner of Political Practices, Chris Gallus represented Lisa Bennett in her current lawsuit against Carbon County. Bennett currently is facing two complaints in the COPP’s office, one for allegedly violating election laws pertaining to campaign materials and another for alleged unauthorized filing of official documents on behalf of the Carbon County Republican Central Committee and signing off on them as deputy treasurer, a position she was neither elected nor appointed to. The latter alleged offense is touched on in court documents attached to the lawsuit the Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) has filed against Bennett for allegedly falsely presenting herself as a representative of the MTGOP, going so far as to set up a deceptive website and diverting official government documents to compliance@gopmontana.com, an email address based on that deceptive website.
Gallus was in the process of putting Lisa Bennett’s cases through his recusal decision process. In that process, reviews are conducted independently by an attorney in the COPP office who provides a recommendation; Gallus then consults with the Montana State Bar; then Gallus, who is ultimately responsible for the conduct of his office, makes the final decision on whether or not to recuse himself and appoint an outside attorney. Because Gallus now finds himself in engaged in this potentially legally fraught situation with Bennett, he has decided to recuse himself and engage outside counsel to deal with cases filed against her with the Commission of Political Practices until the issue with the Secretary of State is resolved.
Montana Independent News will provide updated information as the situation progresses.