An Algona woman is accused of stealing $1.8 million in state and federal funds from a state agency in South Dakota. Sixty-eight-year-old Lonna Carroll is charged with two felony counts of aggravated grand theft.
Carroll was an employee of South Dakota’s Department of Social Services who retired in 2013. She’s accused of embezzling money intended for child care services between 2010 and 2023. Carroll was arrested Wednesday in Algona and is awaiting extradition to South Dakota. Her bond has been set at $50,000.
According to South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Carroll’s position within South Dakota’s Department of Social Services let her request payments and then intercept the checks. Jackley says staff in the agency discovered the scheme this past February.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)
(This story was updated to show Carroll worked at the agency until 2023.)