By An Iowa woman who formerly worked for the South Dakota Department of Social Services is accused of stealing an estimated $1.8 million from the department’s Division of Child Protection Services over the course of 13 years.
Lonna Carroll, 68, of Algona, Iowa, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated grand theft. She was arrested Wednesday in Iowa and is awaiting extradition to South Dakota. Bond has been set at $50,000.
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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the charges Thursday, July 18.
He said Carroll would request money from the Child Protection Services for a particular child, according to reporting by The Dakota Scout. After that request was made, Carroll, who was in a managerial position to give approval to funding requests within the department, would do so. DSS’s financial department and the State Auditor’s Office would sign off on the transactions, the latter of which would issue a check. She would then intercept the funds, place them in the bank that they were intended for, and then eventually transfer them to her own personal account.
Carroll intercepted checks 571 times, Jackley says
Jackley said that happened 571 times over the course of a decade, according to the Scout.
A news release from Jackley said Carroll “had control of the funds” while she worked for Child Protection Services. Jackley said the alleged theft occurred between 2010 and 2023, and was discovered by the Department of Social Services. The state Division of Criminal Investigation and Department of Legislative Audit led the investigation.
The problem was discovered in late February, according to the release.
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Carroll left state government in February 2023, about a year before the embezzlement was detected.
Jackley
“My understanding is that changes have been made,” Jackley said when asked about how Carroll was given the ability to approve her own funding requests, according to the Scout.
Carroll’s initial court appearance has not yet been scheduled in Hughes County court in Pierre. The maximum sentence for the first count is 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The maximum sentence for the second count is 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
Austin Goss of “The Dakota Scout” contributed to this report.