Long-Standing Case Regarding AG Lease to be Settled

(North Dakota Monitor) –

The owner of a south Bismarck property leased to the Attorney General’s Office will pay the state over $14,000 to settle financial discrepancies related to a building project spearheaded by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s administration.

The payment came up Tuesday during a meeting of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee, which asked for additional information about the building project during its August meeting.

The Attorney General’s Office selected the Burlington Drive building around 2019 to become office space for several agency divisions. The building became controversial in part because of Rep. Jason Dockter’s role as a co-owner. The Bismarck Republican was later convicted of a conflict of interest misdemeanor and found to have committed three ethics violations.

After Stenehjem’s death in 2022, incoming Attorney General Drew Wrigley alerted state officials to concerns about the project’s finances. Despite a limited review by the state auditor and an outside investigation, the Ethics Commission in a June report said there are still unanswered questions about the building deal.

Due to discrepancies between the Attorney General’s Office and Stealth Properties’ records, the state concluded it had overpaid Stealth an estimated $14,600 related to lease payments. Stealth calculated it had already fully paid the state, however.

While Chief Deputy Attorney General Claire Ness in a Nov. 4 memo said the Attorney General’s Office was willing to give up pursuing the $14,600 to avoid litigation, an attorney representing Stealth Properties on Tuesday said the agency and Stealth had since met to work the issue out.

Stealth agreed to pay the money so that the parties could move on, the attorney, Monte Rogneby, said.