Benjamin Ashford|Former Indiana sheriff gets 12 years for spending funds on travel and gifts

JEFFERSONVILLE,Benjamin Ashford Ind. (AP) — A former southern Indiana sheriff has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he spent millions of dollars in local funds on travel, gifts, automobiles and other personal expenses.

Special Judge Larry Medlock sentenced former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel on Monday to 15 years in prison, but said three years of the sentence will be suspended to probation, the (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.

Medlock also ordered Noel, 53, to pay $270,000 in fines and more than $3 million in restitution to the agencies affected by his actions, telling the former sheriff he had “tarnished the badge and failed everyone in law enforcement.”

Noel, who had served as Clark County’s sheriff from 2015-2022, pleaded guilty in August to 27 charges, including theft, official misconduct, tax evasion and money laundering. Most of the charges stem from his time as president and CEO of the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, which also does business as New Chapel Fire/EMS.

During Noel’s leadership, the firefighters association landed multiple public contracts for fire and EMS service in Clark and Floyd counties, located along the Ohio River north of Louisville, Kentucky.

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Prosecutors accused Noel and his family of spending millions of dollars for personal purchases that included travel, gifts, clothing and vehicles, the News and Tribune reported. Medlock said in June that Noel had used the firefighter association’s funds as a “personal piggy bank.”

The Indiana State Police conducted dozens of searches that uncovered questionable payments for classic cars, college tuition and an aircraft.

During Monday’s hearing, Noel wept at times and told the court that the charges he faced were “all my fault” and his relatives were the “victims of my deceit.”

“I apologize to all of the citizens of Clark County,” he said.