This article has been updated to change how MTFP identified the foundation donor.
The Great Falls Clinic confirmed Wednesday that a fundraising director is no longer employed by the hospital’s foundation after Montana Free Press reported about past financial crimes and allegations that he promoted a fake fundraising event.
A clinic spokesperson declined to specify whether Adrian Swensen was fired or resigned. His departure leaves the foundation with one full-time staff member heading into a major fundraising event.
The Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation hired Swensen in August as a full-time fundraising administrator. The foundation’s biggest project is a housing project that serves visiting patients. On Monday, MTFP reported that the Kamala Harris presidential campaign accused Swensen in 2019 of promoting a fundraising event for Harris, though the campaign had no plans to visit Utah.
Swensen’s criminal history includes theft, credit card fraud and forgery. The latter conviction involved the forgery of an American Red Cross check in 2014 while Swensen was working as a volunteer for the organization in Iowa.
On Tuesday, the Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation removed Swensen from its staff website and took down the announcement of his hiring.
The Great Falls Clinic has said through a spokesperson that it conducts background checks on all new hires. On Wednesday, the spokesperson stuck to that general statement and didn’t directly address the hiring process for Swensen.
“We do a background check on all employees,” said Samantha Kaupish, director of marketing and professional services for the Great Falls Clinic.
News of Swensen’s history frustrated donors like one 82-year-old Great Falls woman who said that she donated thousands to the clinic and the foundation in recent years and had committed her future estate to the foundation.
Learning of Swensen’s history on Monday, the donor said that she rescinded that commitment, and her estate disbursements will now be controlled by an executor.
“How about a sleepless night until I get to the bank,” she said about her reaction to the news. “They were even a beneficiary on my house, which was paid off.”
The donor, like others who spoke with MTFP, found parts of Swensen’s history through a Google search and wondered how that information was considered during his hiring process.
One piece of Swensen’s history that isn’t available through a Google search is that he has an active arrest warrant, MTFP has learned.
Sheriff Joel Phillips of Marshall County, Iowa, confirmed that Swensen has an active arrest warrant for violating the terms of his probation. The warrant stems from a 2018 conviction of theft, an aggravated misdemeanor.
Court documents say that in 2018, Swensen wrote a check from a closed account to a business in Marshalltown, Iowa, for more than $500 but less than $1,000. He told the business that his wallet was stolen but that the bank would pay the check. He also told the business that he would pay with a debit card. Neither payment happened.
A court filing in January 2019 for violation of pre-trial release said that Swensen was a resident of Davenport, Iowa, and that he missed two weekly check-ins with probation personnel. Probation officers tried to call Swensen, but his phone no longer accepted calls. The warrant filed for the violation remains active.
By July of 2019, the Kamala Harris campaign accused Swensen of promoting a fake Harris appearance in Salt Lake City, which cost a local business thousands of dollars after refunding event ticket sales and preparing its event space. A day after that accusation surfaced, Swensen was arrested in Wyoming on July 11, 2019, driving a car that the Salt Lake City business owner had reported stolen. He was sentenced to at least two years in a Wyoming prison.
Swensen’s criminal history goes back decades and often involves cases of theft or deception.
In 2015, Swensen was convicted of misdemeanor theft in Story County, Iowa. Court documents say that he entered someone’s home “as part of a community project” and took the resident’s wallet, removed $50 and threw the wallet in the street.
In 2008, authorities in Des Moines, Iowa, arrested Swensen under the name Adrian Noe and charged him with felony unauthorized use of a credit card for using a stolen card at a Quality Inn and Suites. The charging documents say he spent less than $1,000 but noted that he “admitted to close to $30,000 in fraudulent purchases.” It’s not clear how he made those additional purchases.
Court documents in the 2008 arrest cite the same birthdate and middle name that appear in more recent Swensen cases. That includes court papers from his 2019 arrest in Wyoming, which Swensen spoke about in a 2022 podcast episode. Media reports and court records indicate that Swensen has used the last names Noe, Hebdon and Swensen, as well as a first-name spelling of Adrain.
RELATED
New Great Falls hospital fundraiser has history of forgery, allegations of promoting fake Kamala Harris event
Adrian Swensen has a criminal history in multiple states that includes financial crimes like forgery and credit card fraud. Despite his history, the Great Falls Clinic Legacy Foundation hired Swensen last month as its fundraising administrator.
A 2008 story in a publication called Texas Watchdog referenced the Iowa Quality Inn arrest and went into great detail about Swensen’s dealings with Texas politicians. The article quoted five Texas candidates and campaign fundraisers who had stories about Swensen’s misdeeds.
One prominent Dallas Democratic donor, Trent Hagler, said he had to cancel his credit card after Swensen charged $2,300 at Supercuts and the Crescent Club, a luxury spa. Hagler found that Swensen signed his own name to the reservation form at the Crescent.
Another source in the story, a candidate named Pete Schulte, also found that Swensen had taken his credit card and bought services at the Crescent Club. In this case, Swensen also signed the credit card receipts with his own name.
The oldest case associated with Swensen and found by MTFP is from 2001. He was convicted of three counts of misdemeanor theft by deception after an arrest by Orem City police in Utah.
Swensen appears to have moved to Great Falls around 2023.
LATEST STORIES
How Montana’s federal campaigns are funded
Montana’s federal candidates have arrived at the final stage of the general election largely fueled by individual contributions. National political action committee donations and contributions from congressional leadership committees also play a major role. Here’s a summary of the financial picture for each major candidate who raised at least $90,000 in individual contributions leading up to the Nov. 3 election, including where the bulk of their itemized donors reside.
First Nations celebrate Albertans’ decision to remain a part of Canada
The Blackfoot Confederacy, a coalition of tribes in Montana and Alberta, celebrated Albertans’ decision this week to remain a province within Canada. The “no” vote represents a long-sought victory for First Nations in Alberta, who brought a legal challenge and launched a public information campaign to thwart the secession. Alberta’s independence movement dates back to the Great Depression, though it gained popularity and legitimacy after a handful of events in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the election of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Crow Legislature rejects bill to expand enrollment
After nearly two hours of impassioned debate, the Crow Tribe’s Legislature on Wednesday voted down a bill that would dramatically change who counts as a tribal member. The bill, brought by Chairman Frank White Clay, would have revised the tribe’s “blood quantum” standard, effectively making more people eligible for tribal citizenship. Supporters argued that the change was needed to ensure the continued existence of the tribe. Opponents expressed concern over straining federal funding.
