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them -- Alphonso Valdez, 21, of Tampa, Fla. -- is accused by the Internal Revenue Service of being the leader of the fraud scheme that authorities say began to unravel when a police officer in Vermillion spotted a suspicious man later identified as Valdez using a debit card to withdraw $900 from an ATM.
• That led investigators to a USD dorm room, where authorities say they found evidence of fraud that led to a more than 6-month investigation. The IRS paid fraudulent claims of about $500,000 before the scheme was uncovered, according to U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson.
• Nine people from South Dakota and Florida are charged in the alleged plot. A federal grand jury indicted them in November on conspiracy and identify theft charges. Valdez was among the six who pleaded not guilty on Monday in Sioux Falls.
• Two others pleaded not guilty last month -- Christopher Lundy, 21, the only active Coyotes football player this past season, and Terry Liggins, 27, a former USD track athlete and student body president. The ninth suspect has not yet appeared in court.
• Convictions could lead to prison terms of up to a dozen years for the suspects.
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AP News in Brief
NKoreans dance in the streets, celebrating rocket launch opposed by international community
• PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Koreans danced in the streets of their capital Wednesday after the regime of young leader Kim Jong Un successfully fired a long-range rocket, defying international warnings and taking a big step forward in its quest to develop a nuclear-tipped missile.
• The rocket launch will enhance the 20-something Kim's credentials at home a year after he took power following the death of his father Kim Jong Il. It is also likely to bring fresh sanctions and other punishments from the U.S. and its allies, which were quick to condemn the launch as a test of technology for a missile that could attack the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang says it was merely a peaceful effort to put a satellite into orbit.
• The White House called it a "highly provocative act that threatens regional security."
• Even China, North Korea's closest ally, expressed "regret" that North Korea went ahead with the launch "in spite of the extensive concerns of international commu (Continued on page 31)
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