Docs: Raccoon call sparks ghost employment, fraud investigation into Northwest Indiana chief
LAPORTE COUNTY, Ind. — A call for a “sick/injured” raccoon sparked an investigation into a Northwest Indiana chief marshal for fraud and ghost employment, according to court documents.
Jason Yagelski, 40, is facing two charges of ghost employment, two charges of official misconduct and fraud.
Court documents allege Yagelski was doing paid police activities for Pottawatomie Park police while on the clock as an officer for Long Beach police and Trail Creek police.
According to court documents, Yagelski began a two-year contract as the chief marshal for Pottawatomie Park police on Jan 1, 2022. He is still currently the chief marshal, according to Indiana State Police.
The investigation began on Christmas Eve last year after Long Beach police chief Mark Swistek noticed Yagelski taking a call under his Pottawatomie Park police radio number.
Documents state Yagelski received holiday pay for 12 hours on Dec. 24 by Long Beach police. Yagelski’s salary as Pottawatomie Park’s chief marshal last year was $2,250 a month, documents state. He was paid $75 an hour and averaged around 30 hours of service per month.
Indiana State Police, who was contacted by Swistek after his suspicion, led the investigation.
Detectives believe Yagelski reported three hours of pay to Pottawatomie Park police following an animal service call for a “sick/injured” raccoon while also being paid by Long Beach police that day.
GPS records were pulled showing Yagelski allegedly was at the location of the raccoon for 11 minutes, not three hours as claimed.
The investigation shows several alleged instances of ghost employment by Yagelski.
Investigators believe there were three times in 2022 Yagelski allegedly charged Pottawatomie Park police for callouts while also being on the clock for Long Beach police. There are no details of the 2022 instances in court documents, but several details in 2023.
A timeline and details of the 2023 alleged incidents is below, according to court documents.
Jan. 11 — Yagelski responds to an alarm call in Pottawatomie Park while on the clock for Long Beach police. Documents state it took approximately three minutes but he allegedly claimed one hour of callout pay.
Jan. 24 – Jan. 27 — Yagelski attends a critical incident training hosted by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office. He was paid 40 hours by Long Beach, with 16 being overtime pay, and also allegedly logged 40 hours of pay for Pottawatomie Park.
Feb. 27 – Feb. 28 — Yagelski attends a training service at the Michigan City Police Department while being paid by Long Beach police. He allegedly logged 16 hours of pay to Pottawatomie Park as well.
March 15 — Yagelski attends a training service and allegedly logs two hours of service for Pottawatomie Park while on-duty for Trail Creek. That same day, he allegedly logged one hour of service for delivering an ordinance letter for Pottawatomie Park while on the clock for Trail Creek.
May 24 – May 25 – Yagelski allegedly logs 13 hours of service over the course of two days for Pottawatomie Park while on duty for Trail Creek. On May 25, he allegedly also logged one additional hour for an animal service call that the 911 center had no record of.
July 5 — Yagelski was put on duty for approximately 20 minutes but allegedly claimed two hours of service for Pottawatomie Park while on the clock for Trail Creek.
Aug. 20 – Aug. 21 — Yagelski allegedly reports eight hours of work for a domestic disturbance. GPS records pulled refuted the timeframe.
Dec. 24 — The aforementioned “sick/injured” raccoon incident which sparked the investigation.
Long Beach police chief Mark Swistek told WGN News Yagelski resigned on Jan. 18. He no longer works for Trail Creek police, according to Indiana State Police.
Yagelski was taken into custody on a warrant Monday. His bond was set at $750, according to court records.
Two judges recused themselves and a special judge was assigned to the case.
His next court date is scheduled for May 29.
Pottawatomie Park town council president Linda Pompeii told WGN News there’s “nothing to report at this time” when asked for a comment.
“The council is also in a holding pattern. I am hopeful that we will be able to resolve some aspects of this situation by early next week,” she went on to say.
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