South Dakota Searchlight
A former equestrian coach at South Dakota State University in Brookings has been indicted for allegedly using state resources to pay for her personal horses’ veterinarian bills and to board them for about a year.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced on Wednesday that a Brookings County grand jury indicted Kamerra Brown, 38, of Brookings, on Jan. 8.
The total value of the alleged theft is estimated between $5,000 and $100,000, Jackley’s office said. Brown faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.
The case is being investigated and prosecuted by the attorney general’s Public Integrity Unit.
Brown is one of numerous former public employees charged with crimes over the past two years in South Dakota. One former Department of Social Services employee, Lonna Carroll was sentenced to seven years in prison for the theft of $1.8 million from the state across multiple years. Other former state employees have been accused or found guilty of charges such as forging food service inspections, falsifying child abuse reports, creating false vehicle titles and issuing themselves a medical marijuana card.