State attorney general sues Richland Township trustees

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Circuit Court seeking more than $47,000 from a former trustee and two former employees of Richland Township in Ellettsville, Ind.

Former township Office Manager Bonnie Lake Justice of Ellettsville and former Investigator Le Anne Freeman of Stanford, Ind., were overpaid or incorrectly paid for hundreds of hours of leave time without proper documentation to explain the payments, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office. 

Former Trustee William Evans of Bloomington was also named a defendant.

“It violates the public trust when government employees spend tax dollars without providing adequate documentation to justify their actions,” Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in the release.

The civil suit is a response to the State Board of Accounts’ certified audit report from last September, which intends to recover $47,313.02 for the Richland Township public fund. The lawsuit also seeks triple damages and attorneys’ fees.

“We have brought this necessary lawsuit to make these defendants reimburse the township treasury what they owe according to the audit,” Zoeller said.

When the State Board of Accounts audits a local government office and certifies an audit, the attorney general is authorized to collect from the defendants on behalf of the state.

Such audits on local municipalities are common, said Bryan Corbin, public information officer for the Office of the Secretary of State. The objective is to recover public funds but not to pursue criminal cases.

According to court documents, Justice and Freeman requested and received payment for hundreds of hours of unused sick time and personal time accumulated prior to February 2009.

Justice was paid $26,030.40 in township funds for “grandfathered leave time,” and Freeman was paid $9,448.72.

Those amounts, according to the press release, could not be sufficiently verified, as they lacked proper documentation for the expenses.

The audit revealed that Justice also received an overpayment of $1,496 in November 2009 without proper documentation.

Despite the township board changing its policy, saying personal and sick days could no longer be cashed in, Justice and Freeman allegedly submitted payroll vouchers for additional hours accumulated for February 2009. Although the vouchers violated the new policy and were not approved by the township board, Evans signed the checks to the two employees.

Merchants Bonding Company of Des Moines, Iowa, was also named as a defendant in the case. The company had a $50,000 bond on Evans as an insurance policy against misappropriation, diversion or misapplication of public funds. The lawsuit seeks to redeem the bond to cover the amounts and reimburse the township treasury.

Any portion not covered by the bond would be the company’s personal responsibility, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Corbin said the Attorney General’s Office can pursue collections against defendants using the same legal tools that a creditor uses to collect debts, including garnishing wages and seizing money from bank accounts. Corbin said the Attorney General’s Office has handled 42 similar cases since January 2009. Typically, he said, defendants make arrangements to pay the money they owe.

A hearing date in the Monroe County Circuit Court has not yet been set.

“Most government employees are honest, but sadly, from time to time people make mistakes and they claim money that does not belong to them,” Corbin said. “It belongs to the public. If you’re misusing the public’s money, then you have to pay it back.”