(The Center Square) – Republican South Dakota Sen. Jessica Castleberry is accused of illegally receiving $603,000 in COVID-relief dollars while holding state office.
Gov. Kristi Noem requested an investigation on Tuesday after learning the Department of Social Services recognized the senator’s name on a grant application to receive $4,000 for Little Nest Preschool.
“At that point, further review into Little Nest Preschool turned up over a dozen payments since 2020,” the governor said in a letter to Attorney General Marty Jackley.
The attorney general said the South Dakota Supreme Court “expressly forbidden” payments to lawmakers in an advisory opinion issued in 2020. The ruling was requested by Noem in 2020, according to Inforum.
“From the Supreme Court’s ruling, your contract is ‘wholly illegal, void, and against public policy, and cannot be enforced in whole or in part on any theory of any kind,” Jackley said in a letter to Castleberry.
Jackley said Castleberry had to repay the $603,000 by Monday, Aug. 7 at 1 p.m. or face court action.
Noem appointed Castleberry to the senate in 2019. The governor said in her letter to Jackley that Castleberry voted on appropriations bills involving the COVID relief funds.
Castleberry said in a statement emailed to The Center Square she believes she received the money legally.
“Prior to applying for any grant monies, I hired independent legal counsel to give an opinion as to whether my company would be eligible to receive the funding under the federal grant which provided the funds to the state,” Castleberry said. “After consulting with legal counsel, I believed my company was eligible. Upon several occasions, I communicated directly and transparently with DSS staff regarding grant applications. I am committed to resolving the issue with the State and will work with them to ensure I acted in compliance with the State Constitution.”
