Isenberg arrested on forgery, grand theft charges

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

The former director of a local housing nonprofit was arrested Monday afternoon on 40 counts of forgery and one count of grand theft.

Lori Isenberg, who led the Coeur d’Alene-based North Idaho Housing Coalition for almost a decade, was arrested without incident. Coeur d’Alene Police had executed a search warrant at her Cougar Gulch home south of Coeur d’Alene on Friday afternoon.

“The (embezzlement) allegation is close to a half-million dollars,” said Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White.

Ties between Isenberg and the nonprofit were severed in late January and an internal audit was launched amid accounting red flags.

Then, last Wednesday, the coalition contacted Coeur d’Alene Police regarding embezzlement and forgery allegations, White said.

Two days later, Coeur d’Alene Police, in cooperation with the FBI and Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, served the search warrant.

Detectives obtained enough evidence during the search that lasted roughly three to four hours to secure probable cause for the arrest, White said.

White said Isenberg was cooperative during the search. He declined to comment on anything she said during that time.

The chief said Isenberg made a written statement amid the allegations, but he declined to specify what that said.

White praised detectives for their swift work to develop probable cause.

“There were a significant number of Coeur d’Alene Police Department personnel involved in this investigation,” he said. “Obviously, amid an embezzlement investigation with this amount of money, we were concerned about this. We wanted to make sure we wouldn’t lose evidence and, in the interest of justice, we wanted to make sure the case has swift resolution.

“Our investigators did an amazing job in less than a week in making a solid case against Lori Isenberg.”

The investigation continues, so White said it’s possible additional charges may be filed later.

“We have mountains of documents to go through,” he said.

Those with any information on the possible embezzlement are urged to contact Coeur d’Alene Police at 208-769-2296 or policetips@cdaid.org.

Meanwhile, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office continues to search on Lake Coeur d’Alene for Lori’s husband, Larry Isenberg, whom Lori reported missing on Feb. 13.

Lori told responders that Larry fell into the lake while attempting to repair a problem with one of the motors on the boat he and Lori were in. The search has been in the area of Powderhorn Bay and East Point on the southeast portion of the lake.

The missing person report came just a few hours after The Press reported the housing coalition and Lori had severed ties and an audit was being conducted. The nonprofit is dedicated to increasing access to affordable homes to low- and moderate-income individuals and families. Board members said Isenberg was placed on administrative leave before ties were permanently severed.

Larry Isenberg, a forest-industry veteran, is a former project manager for Fire Smart, a program offered by Kootenai County’s Office of Emergency Management that helps property owners protect their homes and businesses from wildfire.