Judge raises Jamey Noel's bond to $1.5M as he sits in jail facing 31 felony charges

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A judge raised Jamey Noel's bond from $75,000 to $1.5 million Tuesday as the former Clark County sheriff sits in jail in Scott County facing 31 felony charges.

Judge Larry Medlock raised the bond during a hearing Tuesday afternoon in Jeffersonville a day after six new charges were levied against Noel. According to court documents, those include one count of money laundering and five additional counts of theft. All six charges are felonies and are in addition to the two dozen felony charges the former sheriff already faces, including theft, ghost employment, official misconduct, fraud and tax evasion. In total, he now faces 31 charges.

Noel served as Clark County sheriff from 2015-23 and also led New Chapel Fire and EMS and the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Department.

"You still seem to think that the Utica Volunteer Fire Department's your personal piggy bank," Medlock said in court Tuesday. "All the while, every day, individuals are trying to survive working paycheck to paycheck with their own money — that they've worked hard for — while you were out flaunting luxuries acquired allegedly at the expense of taxpayers."

According to court documents, the new money laundering charged encompasses activity between June 2019 and August 2023. The charge covers various theft accusations made against him throughout the case.

As for the additional theft charges filed Monday, one alleges Noel used Clark County Sheriff's Department money to purchase items in excess of $50,000 between June 2019 and December 2022. Items include five lawnmowers totaling $18,651, an HVAC system costing more than $6,500, a Dodge Ram costing $11,000 and 26 shipping containers estimated to be worth more than $25,000.

"It appears that you had — or at least did have — an airplane, a train that was hidden, a stable of exotic motor vehicles, a harem of women, at least three mansions, at least $3,000 suits (and) $800 belts which you get personally delivered," Medlock said in court Tuesday.

The shipping containers, containing missing government surplus property, were seized in March as part of the Noel investigation. According to search warrants released at the time, the containers were found at a business in Deputy, Indiana. The owner of the business told investigators Noel had asked him to store the containers during the last weeks of his term as sheriff in 2022.

The second theft charge filed alleges Noel paid nearly $51,000 in child support using funds from the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Fighter Association.

Some of the theft accusations against Jamey Noel were outlined in an audit released in April of the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters association and New Chapel EMS. The audit revealed Noel 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 2019-23, 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.

When discussing whether Noel had access to those credit cards in court Tuesday, Heather Peters, legal counsel for New Chapel EMS, spoke up during the hearing as she was sitting in the back of courtroom with the general public. Noel's attorney Larry Wilder fired back saying the judge didn't mean anyone in the room could comment on the credit cards. Judge Medlock then called Peters up to the stand as a witness. She said the American Express account has been closed. It's still unclear if he still has access to any other credit cards.

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.

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 that is 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, Noel 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 in his home by Indiana State Police detectives during a search of the family home.

Medlock ordered Noel back to jail, finding him in contempt of court.

"You are not the law," Medlock said April 10. "You don't interpret the law. You don't enforce the law. You're not above the law."

Noel's wife, Misty Noel, and their daughter, Kasey, are also charged in the investigation. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and are out of jail on bond.

Investigators believe they racked up millions of dollars in charges on trips, expensive clothes, jewelry, tanning, gas, alcohol, vaping products, salon services and more. The charges are among millions police accuse the three charged to fire department credit cards and paid with fire department funds.

Misty and Kasey Noel are facing multiple felony charges for theft and tax evasion. Kasey Noel was arrested in March 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 his daughter charged more than $100,000 to the Utica Volunteer Fire Department and New Chapel EMS.

According to the detailed charges, Kasey Noel purchased 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.

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

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