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Former state employee sentenced for issuing herself a medical marijuana card • South Dakota Searchlight [1]

['South Dakota Searchlight Staff', 'John Hult', 'Makenzie Huber', 'More From Author', 'September', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']

Date: 2025-09

A former South Dakota Department of Health employee was sentenced to two years of probation and a $500 fine Tuesday in Hughes County Court for illegally issuing herself a medical marijuana card.

Alexandra Feiner, 24, of Pierre, had pleaded guilty earlier to one felony count of offering a false or forged instrument for filing, registering or recording.

The crime occurred in March 2024. By issuing a card to herself, Feiner illegally avoided both the medical provider certification requirement and a required fee.

She received a suspended imposition of sentence, which means she’ll avoid two years in prison if she abides by the terms of her probation.

Feiner’s case is one of six that Attorney General Marty Jackley has prosecuted against former state employees since last year for allegations related to their work for state government.

“There are 14,000 state government employees in South Dakota and the overwhelming majority work hard for South Dakota,” Jackley said Tuesday in a news release. “The behavior of one should not reflect poorly on the majority.”

The other five cases ranged from the illegal use of a foster family food voucher for a state employee’s own expenses, to the stealing of $1.8 million from the Department of Social Services over the course of 13 years.

In response to the run of prosecutions, Jackley supported a package of four bills passed during this year’s legislative session that expanded the investigatory authority of the state auditor; strengthened the Board of Internal Controls; instituted mandatory reporting requirements for state employees and penalties for failing to report; and established protections for whistleblowers.

Gov. Larry Rhoden signed an executive order in April mandating the creation of a “secure standard reporting mechanism” for employees. The portal delivers whistleblower reports of malfeasance to the state’s auditor and attorney general.

Lawmakers also passed legislation this year strengthening the ability of the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee to conduct investigations and issue orders known as subpoenas requiring people to testify or supply information.

Last year, then-Gov. Kristi Noem added an extra internal control officer position to the executive branch and ordered state employees to undergo annual training aimed at preventing criminal activity.

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[1] Url: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/former-state-employee-sentenced-for-issuing-herself-a-medical-marijuana-card/

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