Search warrants for fraud, corruption served at home owned by former Clark County sheriff
By Matthew Keck
Click here for updates on this story
CLARK COUNTY, Indiana (WLKY) — Indiana State Police served multiple search warrants Wednesday to the home owned by a former Clark County sheriff.
We’re told they’re related to an investigation into public official corruption allegations.
ISP Capt. Ron Galvis confirmed that multiple search warrants were executed Wednesday afternoon at a home on Old Tay Bridge in Jeffersonville. Property records show that the home is owned by former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel.
Indiana Secretary of State records also list the home as the office address for a company called “GENCO GROUP LLC,” which lists Noel as the registered agent.
The allegations include fraud, official misconduct, ghost employment and tax evasion.
ISP did not name the official who is being investigated due to it being an ongoing investigation.
Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples released a statement related to the investigation:
“When the people of this county elected me Sheriff, I ordered a thorough review of the office, its budget, and much more. During that review, we uncovered evidence of troubling and potentially criminal behavior during the previous administration.
“Because no one is above the law, I referred the evidence we uncovered to the Indiana State Police to ensure an impartial and independent investigation. We’ll continue to cooperate with the independent investigation in every way that we can. Any questions about the investigation should be directed to the Indiana State Police.”
Chris Reiter and his girlfriend Tiffany Napier came to the home on Old Tay Bridge to see the search for themselves.
“My girlfriend and I were victims of a botched police raid by the Clark County Sheriff’s Department,” Reiter said.
According to court documents, Reiter was severely beaten during the raid, and Napier’s back was broken. Deputies told the couple they were searching for drugs, but no drugs were ever found, and no charges were filed.
That led them to file a federal lawsuit against the Clark County Sheriff’s Department for civil rights violations. They allege investigators falsely obtained the warrant used to search their home.
“It led us to need to start researching records and getting information and intel from people that might know anything so that we could understand how something like this happened inside of a sheriff’s agency,” Reiter said.
Reiter says what they found was evidence of widespread corruption within the department and turned it over to the Department of Justice.
“A lot of it didn’t even relate to our personal lawsuit case, but it was information that was turned over to me while people were investigating for our incident,” Reiter said.
He has documented their journey on his YouTube channel called “For Public Safety,” which has evolved into a citizen watchdog group.
While they don’t know the details behind Wednesday’s search, they say they’re glad someone is finally looking into the department.
“Hopefully, this helps make this community safer,” Napier said.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.