Former bookkeeper pleads guilty to taking nearly $700,000 from F-M Forklift

Austen Strom (Cass County Jail photo)

FARGO (KFGO-KVRR) —A former bookkeeper at F-M Forklift has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of bank fraud and has been ordered to repay nearly $700,000.

Austen Strom, 31, entered the plea Monday. Four other counts were dismissed.

Prosecutors say Strom started forging checks to himself in March 2024 to cover gambling debts. He was indicted in April 2025.

Strom was ordered to forfeit $30,000 deposited into a brokerage account and he was ordered to repay over $660,000. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, with credit for time served.