NEWS

Former LifeScape employee gets jail time for theft

Patrick Anderson
panderson@argusleader.com
LifeScape logo

A Sioux Falls woman admitted Monday to stealing money from LifeScape clients.

Jodi Aulner, 30, pleaded guilty to petty theft and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Aulner was a group home supervisor for the nonprofit, which provides education and support to people with disabilities. The organization was under investigation until last month by the state, when the head of the Department of Human Services ruled recent abuse of one client, and the death of another were isolated incidents.

Aulner was charged after investigators found she was writing suspicious checks that belonged to LifeScape clients to buy beauty products, according to court records. Aulner also took money from clients’ petty cash accounts.

She used the money at Ulta Beauty and Shopko, buying cosmetics and a $200 pre-paid gift card, according to court records. Aulner told investigators the beauty products were for the clients, and that she returned them after finding them in her trunk.

Aulner agreed to pay nearly $1,200 in restitution after pleading guilty to petty theft in the first degree.

State: LifeScape death, abuse were isolated incidents