A stunning breach of trust has rattled one of Billings' most storied private institutions, as two former employees of Yellowstone Country Club now face serious embezzlement charges in Yellowstone County District Court.

The golf club embezzlement case centers on Jeffrie Ward Hunter, who served as the club's general manager and chief operating officer from late 2019 through the fall of 2025, and Michelle Whitney Polak, a longtime financial overseer who worked at the club for more than fifteen years.

Both are charged with theft by embezzlement, accused of exploiting club-issued credit cards to cover a range of personal expenses that investigators say had nothing to do with legitimate business operations.

The country club theft came to light in January when a member of the club's board of directors walked into the Billings Police Department to report that more than forty thousand dollars had vanished from club accounts over the span of several years.

The unraveling began quietly — through a resignation email Polak sent to the board in December 2025, in which she allegedly acknowledged misusing club funds and implicated Hunter in separate theft of his own.

An internal financial audit subsequently handed to detectives proved far more damning than the board had initially anticipated, revealing a pattern of personal purchases charged to company cards by both individuals.

Polak, who managed everything from tax filings to expense reimbursements and reported directly to Hunter, told investigators she began diverting club funds after feeling undervalued — she had earned an accounting degree while absorbing increasing financial responsibilities, yet was never moved to a salaried position like other staff members.

Facing personal financial hardship, she allegedly began using the club credit card for smaller personal purchases, believing she could quietly repay the amounts over time.

Investigators ultimately determined that Polak embezzled just over fifty-eight thousand dollars during her tenure.

Hunter's case carries its own colorful details — detectives learned he allegedly purchased artwork, women's clothing, and expensive wines on the club's tab, with a woman he had been romantically involved with reportedly confirming the gifts.

That same woman told police Hunter had a habit of projecting wealth he did not actually possess, making grand financial promises without the means to back them up.

Investigators attributed approximately twenty-one thousand dollars in embezzlement charges to Hunter after reviewing financial records and conducting interviews.

The timing is particularly painful for a club that only recently celebrated the completion of a two-million-dollar course restoration — a project Hunter himself had publicly championed as a proud preservation of the course's original design.

Polak appeared in court and entered a not guilty plea, and was released on her own recognizance with a standing order to have no contact with club staff or Hunter.

Hunter's path to court has been notably rockier — after missing an initial court date, a one-hundred-thousand-dollar arrest warrant was issued before his attorney successfully moved to have it quashed.

If convicted on the embezzlement charges Montana prosecutors have filed, both individuals could face at least a year in prison and fines reaching fifty thousand dollars.