Former attorney sentenced for money laundering, fraud

A former South Dakota attorney has been sentenced for wire fraud, money laundering and bank fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dennis Holmes said in a statement Thursday that Rena Hymans has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $164,000 in restitution.

Hymans was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of last year. She pleaded guilty in January and was convicted on two counts of money laundering, two counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud.

Prosecutors say that as a licensed attorney in Sturgis, Hymans transferred unearned money from her client trust account to her own business and personal accounts, and then used the money for her personal benefit between February 2014 and January 2020.

Hymans was ordered to self-surrender to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on August 24.