Canton Man Sentenced to more than 3 Years in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Canton, South Dakota, man convicted of three counts of Wire Fraud and two counts of Money Laundering. The sentencing took place on December 5, 2025.

Gary Aaron King, 51, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $500 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $1,418,220.87 in restitution.

King was indicted for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering by a federal grand jury in February 2024. He pleaded guilty on September 5, 2025.

Between July 2022 and January 2023, King, the sole owner of Cypress Risk Management, LLC, collected insurance premiums from client colleges for student athlete insurance coverage and then embezzled the funds for his own personal benefit. Rather than remitting those premiums to the managing general agents as he was required, King used more than $1,400,000.00 for another business venture and to purchase a luxury home. When questioned by the managing general agents regarding the payments on the policies the colleges had purchased, King provided false explanations and sent checks to the managing general agents that were returned as insufficient funds.

"Federal investigators are committed to rooting out fraud wherever it exists," said U.S. Attorney Parsons. "This sentence, which includes full restitution for the institutions fleeced by this defendant, is another reminder that the bill for committing fraud will eventually come due and be paid with a term of years."

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

King was ordered to self-surrender to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at a future date.