Run of prosecutions against SD state employees continues with alleged grocery voucher fraud

A wave of criminal prosecutions against former South Dakota state employees continued Thursday with a new charge against a woman accused of using grocery vouchers intended for foster families.

The case is at least the fifth brought against a former state employee by Attorney General Marty Jackley since last summer, all for fraud-related allegations. 

“The Attorney General’s Office intends to continue to prosecute these cases to regain the public’s trust in state government,” Jackley said Thursday in a press release.

New case details

The new charge is against Amalia Escalante Barrientos, 28, of Brookings, who began working for the state Department of Social Services in 2023. In her role as a family service specialist, she was authorized to provide one-time $150 grocery vouchers to foster families.

According to a court document filed by a state Division of Criminal Investigation agent, department officials became suspicious when Barrientos provided two vouchers to one foster parent in a short period of time. Barrientos allegedly used one of the vouchers to purchase $149.98 worth of groceries for herself, while allegedly using her own loyalty account number with the grocery store.

Barrientos resigned during the ensuing investigation and allegedly admitted to the agent that she used a total of three vouchers for herself, all last year.

The agent wrote that Barrientos was supposed to obtain verbal approval from a supervisor before issuing a voucher, but “often her supervisor was unavailable, so field workers were permitted to generate the vouchers provided they just make their supervisor aware at some point.”

Barrientos is charged with one misdemeanor count of “obtaining money, property or assistance by fraud from social services or related programs.” The maximum penalty if she’s convicted is one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Updates on earlier cases

The recent rash of revelations about alleged criminal behavior by state employees dates to at least July, when 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 while she worked for the Department of Social Services. Her case is scheduled for an April trial.

In August, Jackley said a deceased former three-decade employee of the state Department of Revenue, Sandra O’Day, had allegedly created 13 fake vehicles to help her secure $400,000 in loans. No charges were filed, because O’Day died before her alleged behavior came to light.

In October, Jackley announced charges against two more former Department of Revenue employees, Lynne Hunsley, 64, and Danielle Degenstein, 51, both of Pierre. 

Hunsley has since pleaded guilty to forgery and grand theft by deception for creating a fake vehicle title that she used as proof of a trade-in to help her avoid excise taxes. She was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $1,200 in restitution to the state.

Degenstein 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’s case is pending.

In another pending case announced last month, Renee Strong, 55, of Springfield, faces 26 felony counts for allegedly submitting falsified reports of food-serve health inspections she never conducted while working for the state Department of Public Safety.

Legislation introduced

Jackley announced a legislative package Wednesday intended to help prevent and catch state employee crimes. The bills include proposed new requirements for supervisors to report suspected wrongdoing, protections for whistleblowers, a greater investigatory role for the state auditor, and requirements for state agencies to conduct annual risk reviews.

Lawmakers will consider the bills during the annual legislative session that begins Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre.

Gov. Kristi Noem responded to the string of charges in November 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.