Montana’s lottery agency significantly misreported nearly $20 million in financial records, state auditors found, tracing the discrepancy to the death of the lottery’s financial services director and the institutional knowledge lost with his departure.

Legislative auditors reported their findings to lawmakers in June, stating they cannot verify the accuracy of the Montana Lottery’s recent financial statements. The audit revealed that the deceased administrator held critical information about the agency’s accounting systems that was never transferred to other staff members before his death.

No evidence of fraud or intentional misconduct emerged from the investigation. Instead, auditors determined that the director’s illness and subsequent passing left a significant gap in the lottery’s financial management and record-keeping processes.

Chet McLean, an accountant from Governor Greg Gianforte’s office, stepped in to help the agency sort through its records and begin remedying the accounting problems. McLean characterized the situation as one in which a key employee “stopped doing his job” as his health declined, resulting in accumulated accounting complications.

The Montana Lottery operates several games including Montana Millionaire and Powerball. The agency’s cleanup efforts are ongoing, and auditors expect future financial reports to reflect continued work to restore accurate records.

The audit underscores broader challenges many state agencies face when critical functions depend heavily on individual employees without adequate backup systems or knowledge transfer protocols. The lottery’s experience highlights the importance of institutional documentation and succession planning in managing public funds.