POCATELLO – The former Fort Hall Elementary principal who stole $9,462.51 from the Blackfoot School District was sentenced Friday.
Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Brenda Honena, 52, to serve five years probation and 300 hours of community service for the crime.
Winmill also ordered Honena to pay the money back in full — something she’s already done, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Haycock.
Honena was indicted by the federal grand jury in Pocatello on Feb. 23. She initially denied any wrongdoing but later admitted to taking the money during interviews with FBI agents.
Honena was an employee in the district when she stole the money, which she admitted using for “personal use.”
The Fort Hall Police Department helped with the investigation, according to an earlier press release by the Department of Justice.
Blackfoot is located in East Idaho, roughly 30 miles south of Idaho Falls.
