The raffle-scam noose tightens on fake U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth.
When Bosworth and husband Chad Haber cooked up their scheme to spend 85% of the proceeds from their first land raffle to buy another chunk of land for a second land raffle, her non-profit submitted the proper paperwork to the Secretary of State to request permission to conduct this game of chance.
However, Bosworth and Haber may not have followed up on their legal obligation to notify the governing body of the place where they intended to hold the drawing (assuming they intended to hold a drawing, a big if, given that the drawing was postponed from fall 2013 to July 15, 2013, and never happened). SDCL 22-25-25(6) reads in part as follows:
...However, any organization that conducts a lottery and tickets or shares for such lottery are sold state-wide shall provide written notice of such lottery pursuant to this subdivision only to the secretary of state and to the governing body where the drawing for such lottery is held....
Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth tells me he has no recollection that his county received any such raffle drawing notification. Commissioner Barth says he has checked with the Moody County and McCook County auditors; they report receiving no such notification.
Now we're not talking big legal timber here: conducting an unauthorized raffle is a Class 2 misdemeanor, 30 days in jail and/or $500 fine max. That's not usually the sort of violation that gets DCI agents out sniffing around...
...but sniffing they are. Two independent sources report that agents from South Dakota's Department of Criminal Investigations interviewed them yesterday about Annette Bosworth and the PHS raffle-scam. Unlike the rumors Chad Haber and Pat Powers spread last summer, this investigation is real. Not filing the proper paperwork with the county where they planned to award their prize may be a part of that investigation... though I would bet the $1,000 tickets that Bosworth and Haber sold and then refused to refund when they didn't draw are figuring much more prominently on our state sleuths' notepads.
Chad, Annette, you should have taken my advice and stayed in the Philippines while you had the chance.
Most frustrating about the Bosworth crimes is that resources are being siphoned away from real candidates like Stace Nelson: exactly the plan that SDGOP hatched.
If I'm not mistaken, the Philippines has an extradition treaty with the US. ;)
It seems you are correct Larry. What we are seeing is an attorney general who is condoning all sorts of illegal activity from proven fraud (read this blog and the newspapers) to outright theft and yet, nothing. After the primaries, you can bet that the Bos will be forgiven completely for what she has been a part of and nothing will be done.
Sometimes, I wonder if this woman, her husband and all of the cons they've pulled isn't some sort of blessing in disguise for this state. For argument's sake, suppose she ends up being the Republican candidate after the primaries. This puts her out in the national spotlight, and I don't know of any national political blogger or reporter who could resist the scent of dirt to be dug up on a candidate. The national media exposes these two for the con artists they are, which in turn, may expose some of the corruption in the state government, which puts our state in a bad light nationally, which in turn leads to changes in how things are run, because I truly want to believe that there are enough people in this state who actually care about how South Dakota is portrayed in the media because they know the effect it will have on the state.
A girl can dream, can't she?
Conducting an unauthorized raffle may be on par with what the governor did when he paid for newspaper articles attacking Rep. Peggy Gibson without a "paid for and authorized by" disclaimer. But stealing that much money is a felony. Lying to the investigators about employees stealing records that were generated after their employment ended tends to upset law enforcement. When they're lied to and they know it they tend to focus a bit more and push a bit harder for the truth.
Kathy, I welcome dreams. I just wish we could achieve reform through less drastic means.
This lead gives the DCI an "in" to investigate almost anything to do with bosworth and haber, from dealings with past employees to their campaign finance. In most states there might actually be a good investigation, but this is South Dakota, one of the most corrupt states in the union. To all the whistleblowers out there, be warned, do not meet with DCI without a lawyer present. Do not fall into the trap of believing that the DCI is going after Bosworth, trust me they are not.
Apparently, Mr. Clean Wannabe Chad Haber is telling people that I was responsible for the missing raffle money and list. However, in the statement given to the Argus Leader by Joel Arends, it is very clear that the list and money were "misappropriated" in August 2012…which is before I worked for PHS and before I even lived in Sioux Falls. It is really tough to keep a story straight when every one of them is comprised of lies.
Dave, in August of 2012, wasn't the office still operating out of Volunteers of America?
Yes it was. They had about three or four rooms there.
My dealings with DCI, SDHP, and the FBI proved to me how corrupt they are. They don't have to worry because Daugaard, Rounds and the Atty, Gen. will protect them. Power and corruption are conjoined twins. Where you find one, you find the other.
SoDak needs a Shannyn Moore,from ADN,themudflats.net and she also has her own radio show in Alaska. Linda Kellen Biegel is another lady who does exemplary investigations of gubmint in Alaska. I certainly would not want either to be investigating me. In the interest of full disclosure,I have not met either of these ladies and do not correspond with them.
But Merlyn, I again pose this question: Why would DCI and other SD powers that be protect Bosworth and Haber? What use are they to the rich and powerful? Don't float the "protecting Rounds from Nelson" hypothesis: I'm not buying it. If Rounds needed a conservative heat shield, they have Rhoden, a much safer investment for such chicanery.
Why, if Haber and Bosworth are breaking the law, would DCI cover for them?
I'm not saying they did. I'm just saying DCI is not to be trusted.
I'm not sure axes we have to grind against DCI on other issues affect this issue. Why can't we trust DCI to conduct this raffle investigation? If you say the reason is power and corruption, then mishandling of this investigation would have to fit into their motives of power and corruption, and that takes me back to my question of what Bosworth and Haber could offer to motivate DCI to engage in corruption on this issue instead of following the law and the facts. If you say DCI is just generally incompetent, that's a different issue.
I didn't say they had a reason to protect Bosworth and Haber. They probably can conduct the investigation. I'm just saying they are not clean themselves. You either have credibility or not. When they break the rules or law in one place it means they don't have credibility. Pretty good credibility isn't enough. It has to be perfect.
Right. I know you didn't say that. And that's the main issue here: is there any reason for DCI or other state officials to protect Bosworth and Haber?