MN Appeals Court Rules Montevideo Couple Must Pay $100,000 Restitution

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Court of Appeals this week affirmed two separate rulings by the District Court in Chippewa County ordering a couple to make more than $100,000 in restitution to a Montevideo company.

The West Central Tribune reports in separate decisions released Monday (July 14), the appeals court rejected arguments by 51-year-old Amanda Jean Smith and her spouse, 56-year-old Noel Jennings Smith, challenging the District Court decisions in which they were ordered to pay restitution to Ritalka Inc.

Amanda Smith was convicted of two felony counts of theft for using credit cards and PayPal accounts to make over $91,000 in unauthorized transactions.

The District Court found that Noel Smith was “unjustly enriched” and ordered that he pay just over $102,000 in restitution.

The court ordered that the judgment against him is joint with the judgment against his wife, meaning both are liable and each is responsible for the full amount if the other does not pay.