Laurel woman arraigned

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Tanya Smith, 44, of Laurel was arraigned in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and plead not guilty on Aug. 25 on charges of theft of government property, false statements to a government agency and Social Security fraud-concealment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Smith was released pending further proceedings. The Social Security Administration investigated the case.

The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.