Wessington Man Sentenced in Medicaid Fraud Case

PIERRE, S.D. - Attorney General Larry Long announced today that Donald. G. Wood, 68, Wessington, was sentenced yesterday, in 3rd Circuit Court, on one felony count of Embezzlement of Property Received in Trust Amounting to Grand Theft. Wood received a 3 year sentence in the State Penitentiary and, in addition to attorney fees and court costs, was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $152,739. 

Wood pled guilty to the charge on August 23, 2005. Wood, acting as power of attorney (POA) for the victim, a Huron nursing home resident, embezzled over $152,000 from 2001 until 2004. The theft involved hundreds of transaction and two bank accounts. 

This case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation.

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