PIERRE, S.D. — State regulators are accusing a Gettysburg business of breaking some of South Dakota’s grain laws.
Banghart Properties LLC faces maximum civil fines totaling $70,000 for purchasing hundreds of truckloads more than the $5 million that a Class B license annually permits, as well as lifetime grain-licensing bans against its ownership and management team.
The state Public Utilities Commission oversees grain-trading in South Dakota. PUC staff attorney Amanda Reiss laid out the alleged violations to the commission in a Jan. 30, 2023, complaint.
Banghart Properties has 20 days to answer the summons. An attorney for the company hadn’t officially responded as of Friday night. The commission is waiting to decide how to proceed.
The allegations stated that Banghart Properties purchased 184 loads after March 16, 2022, when the $5 million maximum was reached on the 2022 license; and purchased 130 loads after October 25, 2022, when the $5 million maximum was reached on the 2023 license.
The affidavit also states that Banghart failed to make payment for at least eight transactions within 30 days of delivery as required by state law.
