Steven Joseph Bares, Wire Fraud, South Dakota 2022

Tabor Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in South Dakota

Steven Joseph Bares, a 53-year-old man from Tabor, South Dakota, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court. According to the United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell, Bares appeared before U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on September 13, 2022, and entered a guilty plea to the charge.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine; three years of supervised release, a violation of any condition of release could result in two years of additional custody on any such revocation; $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund; and restitution.

Bares willfully and unlawfully devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and obtain money and property from two parishes by false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises. The two parishes involved were Saint Wenceslaus Parish in Tabor, South Dakota, and Saint John the Baptist Parish in Lesterville, South Dakota.

The investigation revealed that Bares, who worked as the bookkeeper for the parishes, wrote checks to pay bills and entered checks in the general ledgers. However, the audit also uncovered multiple checks made out to companies belonging to Bares that did not correspond to any service or equipment purchased from those companies.

Between January 2013 and March 2020, Bares embezzled money from the two parishes, totaling $324,001.37. The investigation confirmed that the checks identified in the audit report were deposited into accounts held by Bares.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri, and a presentence investigation was ordered. A sentencing date was set for December 12, 2022. Bares was released on bond pending sentencing.