LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As he sits in jail on a $1.5 million bond, charged with 31 felonies, former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel now faces a civil lawsuit accusing him of taking money from his nephews and niece.

Hope Noel.jpeg

Hope Noel, former sister-in-law of Jamey Noel, speaks with WDRB News on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (WDRB photo)

Jamey Noel's former sister-in-law, Hope Noel, was married to Jamey's brother Leon, who died in 2018. Before he passed away from liver problems, he told Jamey to handle his will, and the estate that would be given to his three children.

Hope told WDRB she always had suspicions about her former brother-in-law.

"We used to call Jamey's organization the Noel Mafia, and a lot of people have for years," she said Thursday. "We've always known that, you know, he's a sheriff and his wife's a nurse. The lifestyle they live does not add up to their salaries."

But, she said, she never suspected Jamey would use his dead brother's estate to line his own pockets. 

In a civil lawsuit filed on Aug. 16 in Clark Superior Court, she and her children claims Jamey moved money around, giving some to the children but, for instance, using more than $50,000 to buy a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner. That vehicle is among dozens of cars Indiana State Police investigators seized from the former sheriff, who is accused of using public money to pay for trips, jewelry, child support, college tuition and more.

Hope said Jamey always paid for every family member during gatherings at nice restaurants, but she wouldn't accept.

"Well he used the credit card for all that too," she said. "He's used the credit card for his whole lifestyle. So his whole lifestyle is basically fake."

The suit also claims Jamey sold his brother's home to his daughter, Kasey, at a price "well below market value" and pocketed more than $30,000 of escrow money from the property they allege he "improperly gifted" to Kasey without reimbursing the estate for the "gift."

Now, Hope is holding out hope that her late husband's three children will get the money she said they deserve if and when Jamey's property gets divvied up.

"How do you even begin to pay over $5 million dollars back to the community that he's stolen from," Hope asked.

If the money doesn't come, Hope believes justice will — and said she will be in court to see it happen.

When asked what she wishes would happen to Jamey as the case goes through the system, Hope said "Prison." When asked for how long, she said "Ever. For all the cases, as he's done everybody wrong in the community."

Hope said her attorney is confident they will win the civil suit against Jamey. She and her children have also filed a request for an emergency hearing on a request for a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent Kasey Noel from selling Jamey's late brother's home.

Background: What led to Jamey Noel's arrest?

Jamey Noel served as Clark County Sheriff from 2015-23 and also led New Chapel Fire/EMS and the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Department. He faces 31 charges related to allegations he used millions of dollars from the agencies for his own use. Charges also include misconduct, ghost employment and public corruption.

The former sheriff is accused of using credit cards from the agencies to fund his and his family's lifestyle — paying for a massive car collection, an airplane, and bills for his kids — including rent and college tuition — among other things.

Noel was arrested in November 2023 on 15 felony charges related to fraud, misconduct, theft, ghost employment and public corruption after a nearly yearlong investigation, which remains ongoing. Another 10 charges were filed against him in early February, including theft and tax evasion.

He'd been out of jail after posting a $75,000 cash bond. As one of the terms of his release, he was prohibited from having firearms, aside from a shotgun for "personal protection." But he was ordered to appear in court after two pistols were found by Indiana State Police detectives during a search of the family home.

Special Judge Larry Medlock ordered him back to jail for 60 days, finding him in contempt of court. Six new charges were filed against Noel in early June. According to court documents, those include one count of money laundering and five additional counts of theft. In total, Noel now faces 31 charges.

Medlock increased his bond amount to $1.5 million a day after the new charges were levied against him, so he was not released from jail at the end of his 60-day sentence. 

Some of the theft accusations against Noel were outlined in an audit released in April of the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters association and New Chapel EMS. The audit revealed he used taxpayer money to pay for vacations, Rolex watches, high-end clothing, child support, college tuition and more. The Indiana State Board of Accounts conducted the audit for the period of Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2023.

From 2019 to 2023, auditors said New Chapel received a total of $3.9 million in public money from Clark and Floyd counties. Over that same 4-year time period, Noel was paid $582,564 in wages, as listed on his W-2. But auditors said he was paid even more money off the books. Over that 4-year period, auditors said New Chapel made $4.4 million in payments on an American Express credit card — $2 million of which Noel spent alone.

The audit details the roughly $4.4 million Noel, his wife Misty, and daughter Kasey all racked up on the New Chapel EMS American Express credit card, roughly between 2019 and the end of 2023. 

Noel and his family are now being ordered by the state to pay all of the money back, which is an estimated $4.4 million. That's in addition to the $918,000 he's been asked to repay after a state audit of the Clark County Sheriff's Office Jail Commissary fund. The audit covered 2015-17 and 2019-22.

A May court ruling prohibits the Noels from selling any assets as part of the state's civil suit against the former sheriff to recover the millions of dollars in alleged misused public money. 

The ruling came after Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita asked a judge to issue an injunction and a restraining order to stop Noel and his family from selling assets such as cars, homes, jewelry and clothing so all public funds can be paid back. Ultimately, the judge issued the temporary restraining order to block sales of the Noel family's assets, which are now frozen.

Depositions in the case are set for August. About 20 notices were sent earlier this month to people who may be called in the fraud trail against Noel.

To date, investigators have made public more than 60 search warrants and their findings since their probe began last summer, each outlining evidence seized or otherwise learned in the case.

A jury trial for Noel is scheduled to begin in November.

How are Noel's estranged wife and daughter involved?

NOELS IN COURT

Misty Noel (left), the estranged wife of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, and their daughter Kasey (right) appeared in court on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 as they try to have their cases combined. (WDRB photo)

Misty Noel, who has since filed for divorce from Jamey, and their daughter Kasey Noel are also charged in the case, facing multiple felony charges for theft and tax evasion. They have each pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and are out of jail on bond. 

But their trials remain in limbo. A jury trial for Kasey Noel was set to start Tuesday, Aug. 20. Instead, it was delayed during a court hearing that day until Judge Larry Medlock issues a ruling on a request earlier this month asking that their trials be joined.

The two petitioned the court on Aug. 6 to have their cases combined, since they both face similar charges connected to the investigation into Jamey Noel. 

Misty was charged with 10 felonies in the case. She was arrested in February and spent a weekend in the Scott County Detention Center before her first court appearance, and was released from jail after posting a $30,000 cash bond. 

Kasey was arrested in April on nine felony charges, including five counts of theft and four counts of tax evasion. Search warrants in the corruption case of Jamey Noel indicate Kasey charged more than $100,000 to the Utica Volunteer Fire Department and New Chapel EMS. 

According to court documents listing items purchased, Kasey made purchases for: clothing, tanning, cosmetics, manicure and pedicure services, food, tickets, trips, alcohol, utilities, vaping products, gas, Netflix and items from Amazon. The charges occurred between October 2018 and September 2023, totaling $108,660.59. 

Medlock is also expected to rule on Misty and Kasey's request for permission to travel to Louisville while awaiting trial. Right now the conditions of their bond prohibit them from leaving the state. 

Their next court dates are up in the air until Medlock releases his decision.  

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