SD high court sides with landowners in property rights case
Court Watch
The state Supreme Court has dealt a blow to South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, ruling the agency can't allow people access to floodwaters or ice that covers private property without legislative approval.
The agency had argued that all water was legally accessible to the public if it could be reached without trespassing on private land. And hunters and anglers had argued that all waters in the state should be accessible to the public.
The Argus Leader reports the decision stems from a lawsuit by Day County landowners and a class action against people who had been accessing two sloughs. The sloughs grew in the 1990s after heavy rains and snows, and in 2001, the public began using them for recreation, even though they were on private property.
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Thai National Sentenced, Faces Deportation for Operating Immigration Fraud Scheme
Nimon Naphaeng, 36, a native and citizen of Thailand, who resided in Wakefield, R.I., was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for running an immigration fraud scheme that defrauded more than 320 individuals, most of them immigrants, of at least $400,000, and perhaps more than $518,000.
The scheme included the unauthorized filing of false asylum applications on behalf of individuals who did not request, nor authorize, the applications.
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does not tolerate immigration fraud of any kind,” said Susan Raufer, director of the USCIS Newark Asylum Office. “We are proud of our role in uncovering this fraud scheme and bringing the perpetrator to justice.”
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith ordered a provisional amount of restitution of $400,000. The final amount of restitution will be determined subject to additional victims being identified and additional court filings over the next 90 days. According to court documents already filed by the government, restitution in this matter may exceed $518,300. During the investigation, the government seized $285,789.31 from Naphaeng. The forfeited funds will be applied toward restitution for victims of Naphaeng’s crimes.