Woman takes plea deal in stealing from housing coalition

A Coeur d’Alene woman has agreed to a plea deal in U.S. District Court in Idaho on charges that she committed three counts of wire fraud and stole almost $580,000 from the federal government.

The Spokesman-Review reports the plea agreement, filed Wednesday, says Lori Isenberg could face up to 20 years and fines of $250,000.

Court documents say Isenberg began embezzling in 2015 while she was the executive director of the Northern Idaho Housing Coalition. Isenberg’s daughters pleaded guilty in October to accepting the money – which was meant to help low income families afford housing.

Reached by the newspaper Wednesday, Isenberg’s attorney Jed Keller Nixon declined to comment.

Isenberg has also agreed to pay back $579,496 in restitution to the nonprofit.