SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The state employee that forged her own medical marijuana card received a suspended two year sentence Tuesday.
According to a news release for the South Dakota Attorney General’s office, Alexandra Feiner, 24, was sentenced in Hughes County Circuit Court Tuesday. She faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison and sentenced to two years in prison, all suspended; placed on probation for two years, and fined $500.
Feiner was an employee of the South Dakota Department of Health. She pled guilty to one felony count of Offering a False or Forged Instrument for Filing.
The South Dakota DOH oversees the state’s medical-marijuana program and cooperated with the investigation conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).
The crimes occurred in March 2024. Feiner avoided both the medical provider certification requirement and the fee.
A renewal window opened up in February of 2024 for Feiner’s original cannabis card she applied for and was issued in 2023. Feiner extended the expiration date of that card and approved her own renewal application. She then created a new medical cannabis card for herself and extended the expiration to May 1, 2025.
“There are 14,000 state government employees in South Dakota and the overwhelming majority work hard for South Dakota,” Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a news release. “The behavior of one should not reflect poorly on the majority.”
The State Department of Health cooperated with the investigation conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
