Isenberg pleads not guilty in Coeur d’Alene to stealing funds for affordable housing

A Coeur d’Alene woman who remains under investigation for the suspicious death of her husband made her first appearance Wednesday in federal court and pleaded not guilty to several charges alleging that she embezzled money from the North Idaho Housing Coalition.

Laurcene “Lori” Isenberg, 64, appeared via video conference Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush and pleaded not guilty to several charges including wire fraud, which carries a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

Isenberg was indicted in October on four counts after investigators say she embezzled about $500,000 from funds that were supposed to go to help poor people find affordable housing.

On Tuesday, her daughters, Jessica Fay Barnes, 36, and Amber Annette Hosking, 39, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a federal program theft. They are charged as part of the same fraud scheme.

Isenberg remains under investigation for the suspicious death of her husband, 68-year-old Larry Isenberg. She told Kootenai County deputies that he fell out of their boat on Feb. 13 in Lake Coeur d’Alene, but a later autopsy revealed that he most likely died from an overdose of Benadryl.