South Dakota’s attorney general says his office had prepared a criminal complaint against Richard Benda just weeks before he died. The former Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development is linked to federal and state investigations into misconduct involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The legislative Government Operations and Audit committee is evaluating results after officials discovered the missing money.
Attorney General Marty Jackley stresses that a person not convicted in court is presumed innocent as he presents state lawmakers with draft documents. On October 8, 2013 Jackley prepared an arrest warrant for former Secretary of Tourism and State Development Richard Benda and a criminal complaint accusing him of grand theft by embezzlement. The attorney general's office had meetings with Benda's legal counsel, and Jackley’s office called a grand jury to consider the charges.
"Going in chronological order, on Oct 22, 2013, which is six days prior to the scheduled grand jury, state, federal and local law enforcement authorities responded to Richard Benda’s death in rural Charles Mix County," Jackley says.
Benda died of a gunshot wound on October 20, 2013; his death is ruled a suicide. Authorities haven’t taken further criminal action.
Jackley says the state’s information about $550,000 missing is part of a larger federal investigation into the EB-5 foreign investor program. He says South Dakota’s audit shows the state Department of Tourism and Economic Development and the failed Northern Beef Packers plant did not violate state law.