Democratic campaign consultant booked in Missoula jail for violating conditions of release

A former Democratic campaign consultant who was set to be sentenced later this year on embezzlement charges is being held without bail at the Missoula County jail on allegations that she violated the terms of her release.

Abbey Lee Cook, a political consultant and small business owner from Helena, pled guilty to three counts of federal wire fraud in August 2025, charges that could result in jail time, fines and supervised release.

According to Missoula County jail records, the U.S. Marshals Service took Cook into custody on Thursday and booked her into the jail at about 2 p.m. that day.

Federal court records show she was scheduled to appear in Missoula federal court a half hour earlier for violating the conditions of her release pending sentencing, which was scheduled for September. The conditions of Cook's release included surrendering her passport to a federal probation officer; not threatening, harassing, tampering with or attempting to influence witnesses in her case; abstaining from alcohol and drugs; and complying with all instructions and reporting obligations outlined by her pretrial officer.

The alleged violations were not listed among the court records in Cook's case as of Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the alleged violations.

A message left with her attorney seeking comment was not immediately returned.

A hearing has been scheduled for Monday afternoon for an initial appearance on the revocation proceedings.

This story will be updated.

Background

Through her own political advising firm, Cook had advised numerous Democrats and left-leaning organizations. One of her clients, Missoula Rep. Zooey Zephyr, filed a complaint with the state’s political practices commissioner last year alleging that Cook had defrauded her campaign of $53,100.

Cook admitted in front of a judge in Great Falls that between 2021 and 2024 she transferred money that belonged to political clients without authorization into accounts belonging to her company, Abbey Lee Cook and Associates LLC.

Cook would deposit checks from candidate and committee campaigns into her own business account and, at times, would move cash between bank accounts belonging to candidates. She also falsified reports that she filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices, underreporting campaign cash and, when two clients brought up the discrepancy, lied about the money accidentally being misdirected.

Sen. Cora Neumann, a Bozeman Democrat, also contracted with Cook as a campaign advisor during her race for the Legislature in 2024. Neumann also filed a political practices complaint against Cook, alleging the consultant had taken about $2,200 from her account.

Stolen funds were used to make payments on Cook's personal credit cards, car loans and commercial property she was leasing for the Windsor Ballroom, a venue available for event rentals on Helena’s Last Chance Gulch.

Local business owners also alleged that Cook defrauded them and made bad business deals through the Windsor Ballroom, though there have been no charges brought against her in Lewis and Clark County.

Sentencing moved to September

Cook’s sentencing was initially scheduled for January but her attorneys were granted three separate motions to continue that step in the proceedings, including the latest request filed on March 25.

In that filing, defense attorney Nicholas Miller said Cook’s immediate priority is to make restitution payments to the victims in her case.

“Cook currently works on her own in event planning and as a florist, primarily for weddings, which is heavily biased toward the summer season in Montana,” Miller wrote, requesting U.S. District Judge Brian Morris move the sentencing hearing out past Labor Day, September 7.

Morris granted the motion the same day.