Canton Township sues to recover embezzled money

Former treasurer stole hundreds of thousands while road repairs were neglected

Photo by Michael Evans on Unsplash

The township of Canton is filing suit to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars that its former treasurer embezzled from taxpayers, an amount that hobbled the township from keeping up on basic road repairs.

Also named in the suit against Peggy Sue VanDeKieft is her husband, Randall VanDeKieft, and his companies, VanDeKieft Trucking and VanDeKieft Dirtwork/Trucking & Excavating. Another defendant is State Line Insurance Agency Inc., a Canton business that was controlled by the VanDeKiefts, according to the township’s complaint.

Peggy VanDeKieft, 57, is currently serving a prison sentence at the women’s prison in Pierre. She was convicted of embezzlement last year and sentenced to 15 years in prison, with 10 of those suspended. She is eligible for initial parole in March of next year, according to Department of Corrections records, but barring parole, her release date is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2029.

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