MOBRIDGE, S.D. (AP) – Two people have pleaded guilty to federal charges of selling prescription drugs to a casino employee in South Dakota in exchange for reward points.
Fifty-eight-year-old Meinrad Medicine and 65-year-old Carlene Cloke entered the pleas to felony distribution charges Monday. Cloke admitted selling the painkiller hydrocodone more than once to an employee at Grand River Casino near Mobridge between December 2016 and March 2017. Cloke admitted her player points were adjusted as a result, which she redeemed for cash. Medicine acknowledged sending others to the employee, Candance Crow Ghost, and received points as a finder’s fee.
Aberdeen American News says Crow Ghost has also admitted to her role in the case and will be sentencing Nov. 18. Investigators found that Crow Ghost purchased pain medication from as many as 10 people and adjusted their reward points.
