United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota woman convicted of theft was sentenced on June 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Donna Peterson, age 49, was sentenced to serve 6 months of home confinement, 4 years’ probation, and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, and over $32,000 in restitution.
Peterson was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2012 and pled guilty to the charge on March 18, 2013.
From 1996 to 2008, Peterson was an employee of Costello Company Property Management. During that time she served as manager of the Sunrise Village Apartment Complex, which was managed by Costello Company Property Management and located in Mission, South Dakota. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency provided rent subsidy payments to Costello Property Management for tenants who met certain income requirements. Between Jan. 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2007, Peterson received cash from tenants in an amount of $32,723.36, which she did not deposit in the Sunrise Village bank account, but instead embezzled and misapplied the funds.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General - Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis R. Holmes.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
