Defense Attorney Fires Back against GEAR Up-Related Charges

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The attorney for a Rapid City man facing felony charges from an investigation surrounding South Dakota's GEAR UP program says his client is a political scapegoat.

Defense lawyer Dana Hanna said Thursday that accusations Stacy Phelps falsified evidence are "groundless."

Investigators say a couple who died in a murder-suicide last year stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds from the Platte-based educational cooperative where they worked.

Phelps is one of three people facing charges from the investigation. Authorities say he and a Mid-Central Educational Cooperative administrator helped Scott and Nicole Westerhuis attempt to avoid a potential audit of a nonprofit where the couple had ties.

Governor Dennis Daugaard said in a statement that the charges show it was right to cancel the state's contract with Mid-Central for GEAR UP.