Todd Rokita takes prominent Republican Jamey Noel to court, demands return of public funds
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Indiana's chief legal officer is taking former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel to court in an effort to get the prominent Republican political figure to pay back the agencies he allegedly took public funds from to pay for personal items.
In a lawsuit filed Friday, Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita stated Noel, who served as sheriff from 2015-22, should be required to reimburse the Clark County jail commissary fund more than $900,000 for "funds misappropriated, diverted, or misapplied", which were cited in an audit report filed by the State Board of Accounts in February.
In the report, state auditors identified vehicles, electronics and medical equipment that did not meet funding regulations. A bus registered to the name of a volunteer fire department and EMS service Noel formerly led was one of the items he allegedly purchased using jail commissary funds.
Noel, a former 9th Congressional District Republican Party chair who served on Gov. Eric Holcomb's 2016 transition team, pleaded not guilty to 25 felony charges, including corrupt business influence, theft, tax evasion and ghost employment, among other charges. A jury trial is set for Nov. 6. The charges stem from an Indiana State Police investigation that began in June 2023.
Noel's wife Misty and daughter Kasey were also charged with theft and tax evasion after investigators alleged they were withdrawing funds from a fire department's bank account for personal use, The Courier Journal previously reported. The allegations are the subject of a separate lawsuit filed by the attorney general's office Friday, which also requests a court to require repayments for loss of public funds.
In the lawsuit regarding the Clark County jail commisary fund, the state also requested reimbursements from Kenneth Hughbanks, Noel's friend and former business associate. Hughbanks, who has not been charged with a crime, allegedly failed to report $214,700 in income, The Courier Journal previously reported. Hughbanks' earnings allegedly came from a Clark County Sheriff's Office bank account which main source of income was sales from the jail commissary.
Additionally, Rokita filed a request for a restraining order that would temporarily restrict Noel from selling real estate properties, vehicles, firearms, clothing and jewelry he owns, as well as cash, stocks and bonds, while the attorney general's lawsuits are pending. Rokita stated that if the restraining order was not granted, the state would be "immediately and irreparably harmed by the loss of misappropriated, diverted, and/or misapplied public funds at issue in this matter."
After the lawsuits were filed Friday, Clark Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Karaffa requested the Indiana Supreme Court to appoint a special judge to oversee both cases.
More: Clark County official 'no longer employed' after police investigate relationship with Jamey Noel
More: Former sheriff Jamey Noel to serve additional jail time after judge finds him in contempt of court
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Todd Rokita sues Jamey Noel, prominent Republican figure, for alleged fraud
