Senator: North Dakota Insurance Fund Won’t Pay Claim in Gambling Case

A state senator from Fargo says the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund will not pay a claim from the founder of a former horse racing betting company whose conviction for illegal gambling was overturned.

A judge has ruled that Susan Bala is owed more than $13 million in taxes the state collected after she was convicted in 2005 of 12 felony charges. She spent 17 months in federal prison before the conviction was overturned.

Democratic Sen. Tim Mathern, a member of the appropriations committee, tells KFGO radio that when interest is figured into the payment, the state will owe “millions of dollars” beyond the original $13 million figure.

Mathern says the source of the funding will probably be determined near the end of the session.