Jamey Noel Sheriff Scandal: Theft, Sentencing, and Restitution

The Jamey Noel sheriff scandal refers to the corruption case against the former Clark County, Indiana, sheriff who pleaded guilty in August 2024 to 27 felony counts after stealing millions of dollars from the sheriff’s department and the fire and EMS nonprofit he ran, spending the money on timeshares, custom suits, Rolex watches, classic cars, cigars, tuition for his daughters, and even child support paid to a county council member. In October 2024 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with 12 years to serve and three suspended to probation, and ordered to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution. His wife and daughter were also convicted, and two former Clark County Council members were charged.

What He Stole and How

Noel served as Clark County Sheriff from 2015 to 2022. At the same time, he was president and CEO of the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, a nonprofit operating as New Chapel EMS that provided fire and emergency medical services in the county. He also chaired the Clark County Republican Party from 2009 and Indiana’s 9th Congressional District Republican Party for more than a decade.¹ Utica Fire Chief Joe Jarles later said that stacking those roles let Noel “steal the money easily.”²

The Indiana State Board of Accounts released a special investigation covering January 2019 through December 2023. It found that New Chapel EMS took in $3,886,388.80 in public funds from Clark and Floyd counties during that period while paying American Express $4,461,506.96. Of those card charges, $2,164,985.81 had nothing to do with the nonprofit’s authorized purpose.³

Court documents and the audit itemized personal spending on the nonprofit’s card:

More than $323,000 on travel, including nearly $198,000 for Marriott timeshares.
Over $227,000 on food and dining, with more than $11,000 at a single steakhouse.
Roughly $213,000 on clothing, nearly $184,000 of it at the custom clothier Tom James Company.
More than $162,000 in college tuition for his daughters.
Nearly $57,000 in jewelry, including two Rolex watches.
More than $75,000 combined on cigars and alcohol.
More than $54,000 in child support paid to a former Clark County council member.

Noel also amassed a personal collection of at least 40 classic cars, bought a 1958 Cessna 172 airplane, and had sheriff’s department employees maintain his vehicles and properties on the clock.⁴³

The fraud went further. Noel allegedly transferred vehicles bought with sheriff’s department funds to New Chapel EMS for nothing, misused $7 million in surplus military equipment intended for law enforcement, and diverted more than $265,000 in jail commissary funds to private business interests. He also spent more than $20,000 in nonprofit money on political contributions through the Republican fundraising platform WinRed.⁴³

The damage to the fire district was heavy. Chief Jarles estimated the department was left roughly $4 million in the hole from Noel’s 15 years of involvement. He said 10 fire trucks went missing under Noel’s leadership. Investigators confirmed at least three were taken to a dealer in Alabama and sold, and the district financed replacements at a cost that ate about 70 percent of its budget.²

The Criminal Case

The investigation began in June 2023, when Noel’s successor, Sheriff Scottie Maples, alerted the Indiana State Police to what he called “troubling and potentially criminal behavior” from Noel’s time in office. Lt. Jeffrey Hearon led the case, which produced more than 70 search warrants.¹

Noel was arrested on November 8, 2023, and charged with 15 felonies including theft, corrupt business influence, obstruction of justice, ghost employment, and official misconduct. He posted a $75,000 bond and was released on conditions that included surrendering his firearms except for one shotgun. Additional charges followed in February 2024. When investigators searching his Jeffersonville home found two handguns in March 2024, Special Judge Larry Medlock held him in contempt and sentenced him to 60 days in jail. Six more charges filed in June 2024 brought the total to 31 felony counts; prosecutors alleged Noel had kept using the firefighters association’s credit card after his November 2023 arrest. Judge Medlock raised his bond to $1.5 million.¹⁵

On August 26, 2024, Noel pleaded guilty to 27 of the 31 counts, including theft, money laundering, corrupt business influence, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion. Four ghost-employment counts were dismissed under the plea negotiated with Special Prosecuting Attorney Richard Hertel.⁶

At the October 14, 2024, sentencing, roughly 21 victims spoke. Former paramedic Roger Montgomery Jr., who worked for Noel from 2005 to 2011, testified that Noel’s practice of prioritizing non-emergency medical transfers over 911 calls to maximize Medicare and Medicaid revenue “put citizens’ lives in jeopardy.” Former paramedic Suzanne Davis said, “He had no regard for our personal safety. No regard for our mental health. None.” Janice Sweet, whose son Christopher died as an inmate, said Noel had denied medical care to those in his custody: “I hope you suffer every day. I hope you rot in prison.” Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said Noel had sought “power, control and money” rather than “public trust.”⁷⁶

Judge Medlock called Noel’s conduct “reprehensible” and told him, “You’ve tarnished the badge and failed everyone in law enforcement.” He added, “You probably deserved a lifetime in prison for your conduct, but that sentence is not allowed,” saying he worried a harsher term could open the case to appeal.⁷

The final sentence was 15 years: 12 to serve, three suspended to probation, with credit for time served starting June 8, 2024. Good behavior credits could reduce the time served to roughly nine and a half years. Noel was fined $270,000 and ordered to pay $3.1 million in restitution, broken down as $2,870,924 to the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association (New Chapel EMS), $173,155 to the Indiana Department of Revenue, $61,190 to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, and $35,245 to the Indiana State Police.⁶

Restitution and Asset Auctions

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita brought civil actions to recover public money. A special judge ordered Noel to pay $918,416.53 for misappropriating jail commissary funds, plus $122,500 in interest, with an 8 percent annual statutory rate running until the judgment is paid. That figure is on top of the $3.1 million in criminal restitution.⁸⁹

To satisfy those debts, most of Noel’s property was ordered auctioned. By November 2025, more than $2.7 million had been raised. A 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird sold for $175,000 in May 2025, and Noel’s 7,982-square-foot Jeffersonville mansion sold for $635,000 the same month. Two Washington County escrow accounts held a combined $1,245,796 by late November 2025, with additional funds in Clark County escrow. Most proceeds remained frozen while a special judge decided how to divide them among restitution recipients and civil claimants.¹⁰

Who Else Was Charged

Noel’s wife, Misty Noel, was arrested in February 2024 on 10 felony counts. The state audit found she had received $663,211.92 in unauthorized distributions through the New Chapel EMS credit card even though she was never an employee of the nonprofit.³¹¹¹²

Daughter Kasey Noel was arrested in March 2024 on nine felony counts, including theft and tax evasion. Prosecutors alleged she had charged over $100,000 to a corporate credit card. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced in early 2025 to nine months in custody followed by 51 months of probation.¹³¹²

Two former Clark County Council members were also charged. Brittney Ferree, who allegedly accepted child support payments, trips, and other expenses from Noel while voting to fund his New Chapel EMS contracts, pleaded guilty in 2025 to a felony conflict-of-interest charge and received two years of probation and a $2,000 fine.¹⁴ Former council member John Miller, a former Clarksville police officer, was charged with conflict of interest and official misconduct for allegedly accepting gifts from Noel while voting to approve New Chapel EMS funding. His trial was scheduled for October 2025 in Clark County Circuit Court.¹⁵

Fallout for Fire and EMS Services

New Chapel EMS lost its fire and EMS contracts and stopped providing 911 services in Clark County in September 2024. Both the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association (doing business as New Chapel EMS) and the Utica Township Fire Department filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A spokesperson said cash reserves were drained by loan payments, insurance, and storage costs while litigation blocked the sale of unneeded ambulances.¹⁶

The Utica Fire Protection District reorganized as an all-volunteer department, Utica Fire and Rescue, which grew to 37 volunteer firefighters. It sold two of three fire vehicles and an unused firehouse to work down nearly $1 million in debt from truck purchases made under Noel and expected to pay off a $900,000 general obligation bond from 2017 sometime in 2026.¹⁷

Where Noel Is Now

Noel remains incarcerated. In April 2026, he filed a handwritten civil rights lawsuit in federal court, representing himself and seeking $930,000 in compensatory damages and a jury trial. The suit names Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples, Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin, Indiana State Police Lt. Jeffrey Hearon, and other officials. Noel alleges violations of his First Amendment rights, claiming jail officials mocked his Catholic faith by posting a surveillance image of him praying on social media and denied him access to a priest for communion and confession. He also alleges his Mercedes-Benz was seized without a warrant, that he was held in a cold cell, and that a corrections officer repeatedly refused to serve him food. The named defendants declined to comment.¹⁸

Reporting from early 2026 indicated Noel was also awaiting arraignment on separate, unrelated charges of strangulation and rape, though details on those charges remained limited.¹¹

1
LPM News. Timeline: The Investigation Into Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel
2
WAVE 3 News. Utica Fire Protection District Set to Receive $650K Payout After Former Sheriff’s Corruption Scandal
3
Indiana State Board of Accounts. Special Investigation Report No. 84474I
4
WLKY. Who Is Jamey Noel? Clark County Sheriff Theft Spending
5
EMS1. Warrant: Former Ind. Fire-EMS Leader Continued Making Purchases Through FF Funds After Arrest
6
Indiana Capital Chronicle. Former Indiana Sheriff Jamey Noel Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison as Part of Plea Deal
7
WDRB. Jamey Noel Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to 27 Felonies
8
WDRB. Judge Orders Jamey Noel to Pay $918K in Damages to the State of Indiana
9
Indiana Capital Chronicle. As Assets Sell Off, Former Sheriff Jamey Noel Inches Toward Multimillion-Dollar Restitution Orders
10
Ink Free News. As Assets Sell Off, Former Sheriff Inches Toward Multimillion-Dollar Restitution
11
WLKY. Misty Noel Release Early, Plea Deal, Clark County Indiana
12
Louisville Courier-Journal. Misty Noel Sentenced for Theft, Tax Evasion Charges
13
Court TV. Judge to Decide Whether to Accept Plea Deal for Former Indiana Sheriff’s Wife
14
WAVE 3 News. Second Elected Official Caught in Noel Investigation Pleads Guilty
15
WDRB. Judge Rules Former Clark County Councilman Will Stand Trial in Jamey Noel Case
16
LPM News. New Chapel EMS Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Stay in Business
17
Fire Rescue 1. Reorganized All-Volunteer Ind. FD Ready for Calls
18
WDRB. Jamey Noel Files Handwritten Civil Lawsuit From Prison Claiming Constitutional Rights Were Violated