CALIFORNIA MAN INDICTED FOR SCAMMING SOUTH DAKOTA COUPLE IN LAWRENCE COUNTY
DEADWOOD, S.D. – A California man pleaded not guilty after being charged with scamming a Lawrence County couple.
Chao Zheng, 30, of Monterey, CA pleaded not guilty Tuesday when he was arraigned in Lawrence County Circuit Court. He faces one felony count of Aiding and Abetting Grand Theft of more than $100,000 but less than $500,000 by Deception and one felony count of Conspiracy To Commit Grant Theft of more than $100,000 but less than $500,000 by Deception.
The crimes occurred between July 26 and August 23 of 2024 when the couple received pop-up messages on their laptop computer from “Microsoft Security.” They were asked to call a “fraud investigator” at a bank and ordered to pay large amounts of money to cover so-called commissions of crimes that had been found on their accounts.
The couple paid the money three different times. Zheng was arrested when he tried to personally collect a fourth payment on August 23rd.
The exact amount of the money stolen is still being investigated.
“This case involved the alleged theft of at least $325,000,” said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. “I appreciate the courage of the victims to come forward, and the work of our investigators to protect our consumers. We encourage everyone who receives such solicitations via the internet or telephone not to respond but to call law enforcement or someone you trust.”
Zheng faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on the Aiding and Abetting charge and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the Conspiracy charge.
He is being held on a $100,000 bond, and his next court appearance is Nov. 5.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SOUTH DAKOTA GOP CHARGED WITH DISORDERLY CONDUCT AT REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
MILWAUKLEE, WI – Reggie Rhoden, executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party and son of Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, faces a municipal citation for disorderly conduct after allegedly throwing a phone at the Republican National Convention.
The incident occurred on July 15, 2024, when Rhoden reportedly snatched a phone from South Dakota delegate Andrew Lauschke, upset that GOP delegate Taffy Howard was being recorded.
The phone allegedly struck a delegate from Maryland, prompting a disturbance.
Rhoden was cited on August 22, with a preliminary court date set for November 24.
SECRETARY OF STATE PUBLISHES BROCURE WITH BALLOT MEASURE INFORMATION AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office has published an official Ballot Question Pamphlet ahead of the November 5, 2024, election.
The pamphlet provides pro and con details for the seven ballot measures, along with contact information for sponsors and opponents.
Voters can find the brochure and also view and print their sample ballots through the Voter Information Portal on the Secretary of State’s website www.sdsos.gov
Absentee voting begins on Friday, September 20, and the deadline to register to vote is October 21.
The pamphlet can be brought to the polls to assist voters during the election.
FORMER SIOUX FALLS THERAPIST SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR IMPROPER CONTACT WITH PATIENT
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – 60 year-old Roy Conrad, a former licensed therapist from Sioux Falls, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual penetration by a psychotherapist.
The crimes occurred between September 2022 and March 2023, and were reported in April 2023. Conrad admitted to having an illegal sexual relationship with a patient, exploiting her emotional vulnerability.
The judge heard testimony from the victim and her daughter before delivering the sentence.
In her statement, the victim detailed her experiences with Conrad that included hugs before and after her sessions as well as Conrad touching her stomach and breasts. The victim said Conrad told her it was all to help her with her fear of physical touch. She says the touching intensified to “assault multiple times a week.”
“You know, what’s so wrong about this particular offense, under our law, is that a counselor is in a position of trust,” Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman said. “And a position that we would call a power-differential, meaning that the counselor has that power over his patient. In this case, the doctor manipulated and exploited a lot of those vulnerabilities that this victim presented with.”
While handing down her sentence, Judge Rachel Rasmussen said that the relationship between Conrad and the victim was not an affair but rather “sexual assault, pure and simple.”
The judge stated that the law protects those in the most vulnerable positions and that under Conrad’s charges, consent is “not a defense.”
Conrad’s actions, which violated his professional obligations, resulted in his immediate imprisonment.
LYON COUNTY SHERIFF TO APPEAR ON BALLOT IN NOVEMBER AS LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE
ROCK RAPIDS, IA – Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep’s name will appear on the general election ballot — as a Libertarian.
In a twist, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Brian Hilt won the Republican primary for Lyon County Sheriff in June. But one person wrote the challenger, Vander Stoep’s, name on a Libertarian ballot, Vander Stoep became the Libertarian candidate, verified by a 2-to-1 vote by an objections panel, made up of two members of the Lyon County Board of Supervisors and the Lyon County Recorder.
According to KIWA radio, Hilt has filed a lawsuit seeking judicial review to reverse their decision, calling it “arbitrary,” “illogical,” and “based on an erroneous interpretation.”
Iowa Third District Judge Charles K Borth disagreed. After a hearing before the judge on Monday, Borth rendered his decision on Tuesday. In the decision, Judge Borth writes, “The Objections Panel properly interpreted and applied the Iowa election laws.”
He also wrote, “Hilt makes further argument as to why he believes Vander Stoep did not satisfy [Iowa Code] section 43.66. In essence, he argues that because there was no preceding primary election for the Libertarian Party, all of [the] variables in the 35% formula cannot be filled, thereby resulting in failure to meet this statutory qualification. He argues that there must be a minimum baseline of votes. In other words, he argues it was the intent of the legislature to have a minimum number of votes to protect the interests of the party from situations such as occurred here with a single write-in candidate with no apparent prior connection to the Libertarian Party. While Hilt’s position is arguably supported by common sense, it is not supported by statute.”
Judge Borth says Hilt also misinterpreted the law. He says, “Hilt’s reliance upon the latter provisions of section 43.66, not cited above, is misplaced. Those provisions, by the statute’s very terms, apply only to write-in candidates for the general assembly. The court is not inclined to interpose those formulas upon a county sheriff’s primary when not so provided by statute.”
The judge ordered that “the decision of the Lyon County Objections Panel is hereby affirmed.”
ABERDEEN MAN CHARGED WITH COMPUTER GENERATED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY POSSESSION AND DISTRIBUTION
ABERDEEN, S.D. – An Aberdeen man has been indicted on seven counts of computer-generated child porn.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says William Webster Bragg, 56, was indicted on Sept. 11 by a Brown County Grand Jury on one count of distributing child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.
Bragg was also charged with six counts of possessing child pornography, where each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a mandatory minimum sentence of one year.
The crimes occurred on or about Aug. 13.
The new computer-generated child pornography statute is part of a new South Dakota law that took effect this past July 1. The new statute, proposed by Jackley, makes possession, distribution, and manufacturing of computer-generated child pornography, including those images and videos created using artificial intelligence, a crime.
That includes “deepfake” images or videos of an actual child that have been manipulated to make it look like the child was engaged in prohibited sexual acts.
Bragg’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 15.
