The Hughes County Courthouse in Pierre, pictured in November 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – One of the former state of South Dakota employees accused in a recent string of criminal cases took a plea deal Monday and was sentenced to serve probation and pay fines and restitution.
Lynne Hunsley, 64, of Pierre, was accused of using her former position with the state Division of Motor Vehicles to create a fake vehicle title in 2021.
She allegedly used the fake travel-trailer title as proof of a trade-in, to avoid paying some excise taxes on a vehicle she purchased. Excise taxes are applied at the rate of 4% when a vehicle is registered, and trade-in allowances can be deducted from the price.
State Attorney General Marty Jackley announced seven counts of fraud-related charges against Hunsley in October, including five felonies and two misdemeanors.
On Monday at the Hughes County Courthouse in Pierre, Hunsley pleaded guilty to two felony charges: forgery and grand theft by deception.
A judge sentenced Hunsley to serve three years of probation and ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and $1,200 in restitution to the state.
The judge also suspended four years of prison time, which means Hunsley won’t serve it unless she violates her sentence and the judge decides to impose it.
Jackley issued a statement after Monday’s sentencing.
“The defendant has accepted responsibility for her actions and is being held accountable for violating the public’s trust,” Jackley said. “As attorney general, I will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and restore the public’s trust in state government.”
Other cases pending
Hunsley is one of several former state employees recently accused of criminal activity while working for the state.
The charges against Hunsley followed revelations of allegedly illegal behavior by the late Sandra O’Day, a former state employee who allegedly falsified vehicle titles to get bank loans. No charges were filed against O’Day, because she was deceased by the time the behavior was uncovered.
Danielle Degenstein, 51, of Pierre, is charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly concealing her knowledge of a crime committed by a person identified in court documents only as “S.O.” — a set of initials that matches O’Day’s. Degenstein has pleaded not guilty.
In July, former Department of Social Services employee Lonna Carroll, 68, of Algona, Iowa, was accused of embezzling $1.8 million from the state by creating and approving fraudulent financial support orders for children over the course of 13 years. Her case is scheduled for a trial in April.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Jackley announced charges against former Department of Public Safety employee Renee Strong, 55, of Springfield, for allegedly forging and falsifying food-service health inspection records for inspections she never conducted. There have been no further proceedings so far in Strong’s case.
Jackley plans to propose legislation this winter to strengthen protections against state employee fraud. Gov. Kristi Noem recently responded to the string of charges by adding an extra internal control officer position to the executive branch and by ordering state employees to undergo annual training aimed at preventing criminal activity.
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