Zachary Ruble, a former manager at the Signal Peak Energy coal mine near Roundup, was sentenced on Tuesday for his role in a fraud conspiracy to steal just under $2.4 million from Signal Peak Energy. In May Ruble plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud alongside his longtime friend and the mine’s Vice President of Surface Operations Larry Price, Jr., the man made locally famous for building a $16.5 million 30,000 square-foot mansion in the Billings subdivision of Ironwood before being put in federal custody after embezzling at least $20 million from a series of companies he was associated with and faking his own kidnapping. Federal sentencing guidelines for the crimes Ruble committed call for 33-41 months in prison, the prosecution asked for only 23 months in prison while the defense requested just four years of probation. Ruble was given two years of probation and was made to forfeit a Rolex watch and an RV gifted to him as part of a payoff by Price.
