CORSICA, S.D. — A Sioux Falls attorney has been charged for allegedly providing five years of fraudulent services to a Corsica-based farm over a crop insurance claim.
Michael Henderson, 53, an attorney for Swier Law Firm, based in Avon with an office in Sioux Falls, is charged with grand theft, a Class 4 felony, and misconduct by an attorney as a misdemeanor. He is also facing a civil lawsuit in which Keith, Clayton and Cody Vanden Hoek are seeking an unspecified amount of punitive damages for allegedly paying Henderson and Swier Law Firm more than $15,000 for services that court documents say were never performed.
Court documents allege that between October 2019 and February 2025, Henderson represented Keith Vanden Hoek, who in the spring of 2019 obtained crop insurance with ARMtech for his farming operation. Court documents say the insurance included prevented planting coverage.
Later that year, Vanden Hoek was denied coverage after he was unable to plant due to some documents not being filed with the insurance company that he did not know he needed to file. A civil case says the total combined loss for the 2019 crop year for the prevented planted coverage totals more than $120,000. It also says the insurance policy and federal law via the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, arbitration must be commenced within one year.
Due to those issues, Keith Vanden Hoek in October 2019 hired Swier Law Firm in Avon. Originally, Scott Swier took the case and sent a letter to ARMtech. In February 2020, Swier was barred from practicing law in South Dakota for violating three professional conduct rules by taking cases in conflict with the interests of former clients and failing to properly ensure the attorneys he employed didn't also participate in misconduct.
Then, Henderson — who was working for Swier Law Firm in Sioux Falls —- took over the case. Over the next three years, Keith Vanden Hoek had some email correspondence, text messages and meetings with Henderson, who stated he was doing work for the Vanden Hoeks and talked about court filings and “a possible settlement with ARMtech.”
Court documents allege it was later found Henderson had no correspondence with ARMtech and that he prepared fraudulent letters, pleadings and emails to Vanden Hoek. The alleged fraudulent documents include emails showing court dates, mediation, legal costs, settlement letters, complaints, appeals from ARMtech and an agreement that claimed to have awarded Vanden Hoek $365,000 on Nov. 14-15, 2023.
“Vanden Hoek was led to believe that Henderson had done a lot of work on their case and had their best interest in mind,” a report from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation says.
In 2024, Henderson allegedly made the claim that the case was going through the South Dakota Supreme Court. “Vanden Hoek reached out to the Supreme Court Clerk and found there was never any type of filing or court process with them,” the DCI report says.
On Feb. 24, 2025, Henderson allegedly wrote an email that made admissions to Vanden Hoek that he never had any contact with ARMtech, that he never had phone calls with them and no letters sent back and forth.”
“From the information received thus far in this case, it appears that Michael Henderson charged Keith Vanden Hoek and received money from Keith Vanden Hoek without actually doing any of the work that he claimed to have done,” the DCI report says.
South Dakota DCI received a thumb drive from Mitchell-based attorney Zach Flood, of Alvine Law Firm, with multiple documents reviewing a summary of the case. Flood is representing the Vanden Hoeks in their civil case, which was filed in Charles Mix County because the dispute involves the Vanden Hoeks’ farmland in Charles Mix County. The criminal case against Henderson was filed in Douglas County. A warrant of arrest for Henderson was issued on May 8.
Brooke Swier Schloss, of Swier Law Firm, on Friday said in an email to the Mitchell Republic that Henderson is no longer associated with Swier Law Firm.
"The law firm is shocked and was not aware about the allegations against Mr. Henderson until earlier this week. This is disappointing news for all of us," the statement said.
The civil case says the Vanden Hoeks have paid more than $15,000 to Swier Law and Henderson, whose LinkedIn page says he worked for Swier Law Firm for more than 10 years.
The case does not specify the total amount Vanden Hoeks are seeking in punitive damages in the civil case, in which the Vanden Hoeks are seeking a jury trial.