BROOKINGS A Brookings woman was fined and ordered to pay restitution Monday in a misdemeanor circuit court case involving the use of a taxpayer-funded grocery voucher for personal gain basically, she used it to buy groceries for herself on Oct. 11 in Brookings.
Amalia Escalante Barrientos, 28, a former South Dakota Department of Social Services employee, also received 180 days in jail, all suspended, and must pay $96.50 in court costs. The fine totaled $400, and restitution topped out at $449.98.
She pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining money, property or assistance by fraud from social services or related programs, according to a news release from the state.
In the past several months, the (South Dakota) Attorney Generals Office has been investigating about four to five different cases of where public funds were used illegally or misspent and this is just one of them, Communications Director Tony Mangan told the Brookings Register on Monday. The attorney general has said several times that regaining, restoring the public trust and holding people accountable for misuse of public funds is a major theme.
The states release said an investigation by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation found Barrientos used the voucher for herself instead of for its intended purpose of helping families receiving aid from DSS.
Fighting public corruption is more or less the theme, Mangan said, adding that DSS cooperated with the investigation.
This is another example of an individual using their power to abuse their position for personal gain, hurting those in need and the reputation of hard-working state employees, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in the release. The attorney generals office will continue to investigate and prosecute cases to regain the publics trust in state government.
To that end, and in addition to other ongoing investigations, Jackleys office has introduced a package of seven legislative bills for consideration in this years lawmaking session in Pierre. According to reporting from South Dakota Searchlight, the bills will offer protections for whistleblowers, bring new requirements for supervisors to report suspected wrongdoing, provide a greater investigatory role for the state auditor and require state agencies to carry out annual risk reviews.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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