Two local women are facing multiple felonies after being charged with defrauding the state’s Department of Social Services out of almost six thousand dollars since 2014.
45-year-old Kari Rettig of Vermillion faces two counts of social services fraud and one count of grand theft, perjury and offering fraudulent evidence. 22-year-old Elisabeth Gould of Tabor was charged with two counts of social services fraud and one count of perjury.
The pair were arraigned together in Bon Homme County after a grand jury heard testimony from four witnesses.
Court documents allege that since October of 2014, Rettig defrauded the South Dakota Department of Social Services on three occasions when she perjured to officials through the falsification and omission of documents and details. The false statements and omissions resulted in Rettig defrauding DSS of over $5,400 in food stamps and child care over the six-year span.
Over the same span of time, the indictment alleges Gould committed perjury by failing to report her living status and providing false receipts and other information regarding her “alleged daycare facility.”
Rettig faces one Class 4 felony, a Class 5 felony and three Class 6 felonies-a combination which could result in a maximum punishment of 21 years in prison.
Gould faces three Class Class 6 felonies, punishable by up to six years in prison, a $12,000 fine, or both.
