PIERRE — A federal grand jury has indicted a Pierre woman on charges connected to Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud and Money Laundering. Acting U-S Attorney Dennis Holmes says 52 year-old Marietta Ravnaas of Pierre was indicted August 3rd and entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday. The Indictment claims Ravnaas took part in a scheme involving CARES Act unemployment benefits by allowing fraudulent unemployment payments to be deposited in personal bank accounts. She is then accused of transferring those funds to other involved in the scheme. Other involved in the scheme unlawfully obtained personal identifying information and used that to fraudulent apply for unemployment from various states. Ravnaas was released on bond, pending trial. A trial date was set for October 12th. Ravnaas could face up to 20 years in prison, a half million dollar fine and three years’ probation, if convicted.
