PIERRE, S.D. – A California man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in an online scam that defrauded a Chamberlain resident out of $472,000, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced.
Chee Yeng Wong, 36, entered a guilty plea Tuesday in Brule County Circuit Court to one count of aiding, abetting or advising grand theft. He was then sentenced to the prison term, fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $472,000 in restitution.
“South Dakotans do not deserve to be defrauded out of their hard-earned money,” Attorney General Jackley said. “We will aggressively prosecute these crimes and hold accountable those who commit them.”
The fraud occurred between January 2025 and March 2025. Wong, whose address is listed as Pasadena, California, is a citizen of Malaysia.
The case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Chamberlain Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and the Brule County State’s Attorney’s Office. The case highlights the threat of online scams across the Black Hills and the entire state of South Dakota.
