The Attorney General is holding a press conference at the moment with regards to the COVID relief funds that went to State Senator Jessica Castleberry’s day care business as they attempted to provide services during the pandemic.
It appears that $104,100 is not being required to be given back to the state, as they were direct pass through dollars to families, but $499,129 will be required to be repaid, as ineligible to have been received by the business under constitutional prohibitions for legislators receiving state funds.
A payment plan has been set up, where Senator Castleberry will be required to repay funds at the rate of $2400 monthly, at the federal interest rate (currently 4.03%). While some funds went directly to families, unfortunately, nearly half a million was considered inappropriate under the constitution, and must be repaid back to the State of South Dakota.
Jackley remarked that Senator Castleberry has been acting in cooperation with the investigation, providing full access to her financial records, including tax returns, financial statements, and e-mails, and all funds went towards DSS approved expenditures for day care related expenses.
A copy of the repayment plan agreement will be public, and will be released. Jackley said in looking at the plan, they determined that a payment plan must be “realistic and achievable,”and they believed that it will be payable over 20-30 years. In response to a question, Jackley noted that under the constitution, Senator Castleberry’s business would be eligible for state funds after the Senator is out of office for a year.
Attorney General spokesman Tony Mangan noted that a press release and the settlement will be disseminated within the hour.
What about someone who is accused of taking let’s say $ 500 from the till of their fast food employer. Could they work out a deal where there would be no charges and then they would be given 20 to 30 years to pay if off. At 30 years, I believe my scenario would come out to about $1.39 plus interest per month.