State employee pleads guilty to forgery charges

PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - A former South Dakota Department of Public Safety employee accused of forging falsified food service inspection reports has changed her plea.

Renee Strong, 55, of Springfield pled guilty to four forgery-related charges in a Hughes County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

She was originally charged with 26 counts back in December and pled not guilty in January.

The charges include two Class 6 felony counts of offering false or forged instruments for filing or recording in a public office and two Class 5 felony counts of forgery.

Strong was performing contract work for the Department of Health at the time. She allegedly forged the business owner’s signature on the inspection forms and did not complete the inspections she was paid to do.

Each felony count of offering false or forged instruments for filing or recording in a public office carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $4,000 fine. Each felony count of forgery carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Strong will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. on June 10.