State worker’s fake title scheme allegedly bilked hundreds of thousands from banks

Department of Criminal Investigation investigating tenure of former Revenue Department employee

The Department of Revenue’s office across from the State Capitol. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

PIERRE — A former state employee who oversaw vehicle titling in the Motor Vehicles Division for South Dakota has been accused of creating fake titles and then using those to obtain fraudulent loans from banks.

Sandra O’Day allegedly used her position to create titles for non-existent boats, ATVs and recreation vehicles in order to carry out the scheme. But O’Day is not around to answer the allegations: She died earlier this year, leading to family members discovering irregularities in her mother’s finances and prompting them to alert the Department of Revenue, which oversees motor vehicle division for the state.

The Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) launched an investigation into the allegations earlier this year — the second such investigation into fraudulent conduct by a state employee in a position of trust just this year.

The Dakota Scout spent weeks investigating the allegations into O’Day, confirming them in interviews with former colleagues, relatives and sources familiar with the investigation. Besides defrauding lenders, she’s accused of misusing her elderly mother’s finances in a pattern of behavior that lasted nearly a decade.

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