PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a former State Department of Revenue employee has been sentenced after pleading guilty to two fraud-related charges.
Lynne Hunsley, 64, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon in Hughes County Circuit Court to one count of Forgery, a Class 5 felony, and one count of Grand Theft by Deception, a Class 6 felony. She was sentenced to three years in prison suspended on the Forgery charge and one year in prison suspended on the Grant Theft by Deception charge. She also was placed on probation for three years, fined $1,000 combined on the two charges, and ordered to pay $1,200 in restitution.
“The defendant has accepted responsibility for her actions and is being held accountable for violating the public’s trust,” said Attorney General Jackley. “As Attorney General, I will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and restore the public’s trust in state government.”
Hunsley was accused of using her position with the Division of Motor Vehicles to falsify records between Jan. 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. That action resulted in her not having to pay $1,200 in tax liabilities to the state.
A second former Revenue employee, Danielle Degenstein, 51, was indicted on Misprison of a Felony, a Class 1 Misdemeanor, where she concealed her knowledge of a felony to authorities. The defendant has pleaded not guilty, and that case is still pending. She is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.
