Wakonda Man Sentenced for Theft in Connection with Health Care

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Wakonda, South Dakota, man convicted of Theft in Connection with Health Care. The sentencing took place on May 15, 2023.

Cody Carstensen, age 47, was sentenced to two years of probation and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Carstensen was also ordered to pay restitution.

Carstensen was indicted by a federal grand jury in October of 2022. He pleaded guilty on January 23, 2023.

The conviction stemmed from incidents between June of 2019 and February of 2022, when Carstensen, who was a registered pharmacist in Scotland, South Dakota, knowingly and willfully embezzled, stole, and converted without authority several drugs valued at more than $100.

Carstensen, in his capacity as pharmacist, received deliveries of controlled substances intended for a hospital and pharmacy. Instead of placing all of the delivered controlled substances in the inventory for the hospital and pharmacy, he stole the substances from several deliveries and used them for his own purposes.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.