New details in massive corruption investigation of local sheriff alleges he spent $50,000 in fire agency funds on cigars. Jamey Noel has been charged with 25 felony counts including stealing millions in public funds.
A former sheriff in Indiana accused of stealing millions in public funds for personal pleasure spent $50,000 on cigars and more than $325,000 on vacations and travel, new court documents allege.
Jamey Noel, 52, has been charged with 25 felonies, including theft, official misconduct, tax evasion and corrupt business influence, according to court records. He has been under criminal investigation by Indiana State Police since June 2023, authorities said.
He was arrested in November. The investigation is ongoing. The sprawling scope of the probe, which is being aided by state auditors, is staggering.
As Clark County sheriff from 2015 to 2022, Noel simultaneously headed the county Republican party, the 9th District GOP, and ran a nonprofit firefighting and rescue agency, the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, also known as New Chapel EMS, according to authorities.
As of now, Noel is accused of stealing as much as $5 million in acts of official misconduct that include buying and selling luxury cars with public funds and using his deputies as personal gophers and handymen on his private properties while they were on the clock for the sheriff's department, according to court documents.
State investigators allege in search warrant affidavits that Noel took out credit cards in the fire agency's name, and used those cards to illegally purchase designer clothing, liquor, cigars, home appliances, vacations, travel, college tuitions for his two youngest daughters, as well as child support payments to a former county official with whom he fathered a child.
The former county officials and Noel's two youngest daughters have not been charged in the course of the investigation.
In February, his wife, Misty, 50, and his eldest daughter, Kasey, 27, were charged with theft and tax evasion for allegedly charging those fire agency credit cards with personal services including tanning, cosmetics, clothing, Netflix, vape products, beauty appointments and Amazon purchases, according to probable cause affidavits filed in court by prosecutors.
All three have pleaded not guilty. All three are free on bail. Jamey Noel was released an hour after his November arrest, when he posted an all-cash $75,000 bail, court records show. Misty Noel posted an all-cash bail of $30,000 shortly after her arrest in February, as did daughter Kasey, who posted a $20,000 all-cash bail.
Misty Noel's attorney did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Edition Digital. Kasey Noel's attorney said in a statement to Inside Edition Digital that her client "is presumed innocent until proven guilty and we intend to vigorously examine all aspects of the investigation as information is provided to us."
Search warrant affidavits filed this week by prosecutors allege Jamey Noel spent more than $50,000 at an Indiana cigar store, purchases he paid for with a fire department credit card, according to the documents.
Investigators are seeking the financial records of Riverside Cigar Shop and Lounge in Jeffersonville, the Indiana town where Noel resides. According to the search warrant affidavit, Noel spent $56,662.37 at the cigar shop over a five-year period beginning in 2018.
The state also now alleges Noel spent $132,467.39 in fire department money on Marriott Vacation Club expenses from 2018 to 2023. Investigators also claim Noel paid $68,954.48 in Florida timeshare fees with a fire agency credit card.
A special prosecutor and a special judge were appointed to the case. The Indiana State Police is leading the investigation. Little has been publicly said on the behemoth case. But in court filings, prosecutors have alleged that the Noels have refused to cooperate with investigators. Nearly 50 search warrants have been filed in the probe, including repeated searches of the family's home, cars and other properties.
Noel's attorney has twice declined to comment to Inside Edition Digital about the case. Another request for comment was sent Thursday to the lawyer, asking for comment on the cigar and vacation allegations.
Indiana state police have declined comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Special prosecutor Richard Hertel previously told Inside Edition Digital, "this is an ongoing investigation with criminal charges pending against Jamey Noel, Misty Noel and Kasey Noel. The possibility for additional charges on Jamey is real." Because of the ongoing probe, Hertel said he would not be able to comment in detail about the case.
As a condition of his bond, Noel was ordered to surrender all of his personal weapons, except for a shotgun the judge allowed him to keep for security, court records state. But in a subsequent search of his home, state investigators seized two Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic handguns, according to court records.
The trial judge has ordered Noel to appear in court Tuesday to explain why he should not be held in contempt, according to court records.
Noel stepped down as sheriff in December 2022 because term limit laws prevented him from running for a third term of office. Noel was fired in January by the board of the Utica Township Fire Fighters Association. He stepped down from his Republican party duties not long after.
None of the Noels have responded publicly to the charges against them.
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