South Dakota farmers told not to comment after guilty pleas in H&I grain fraud case
Jared Steffensen of the Arlington, S.D., area, pleaded guilty to theft by deception in his H&I Grain Inc. business, at a June 29, 2021, hearing at the Beadle County, S.D., courthouse at Huron. He speculated on grain trades, and then failed to pay millions to farmers. He and his wife, Tami, could face five years in the state penitentiary. His mother, JoAnn also pleaded guilty to a felony of failing to inform state regulators that her company was failing financially. 8:57 pm, Jun. 29, 2021 ×
South Dakota Attorney General lawyers extracted guilty pleas from Jared, Tami and JoAnn Steffensen of Arlington, S.D., for felonies related to conspiring to mislead farmers and grain regulators. Their H&I Grain Inc. stole millions from farmers in 2016 to 2017, as they tried to cover up Jared’s grain speculation losses. Photo taken June 6, 2019 in Huron, S.D.