LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The damage caused by Jamey Noel’s financial crimes continues to ripple through southern Indiana, leaving behind a broken reputation, massive debt and a department trying to rebuild from the ashes.
New Chapel EMS and the Utica Township Fire Department — essentially operating as one entity — have been left cash-strapped and struggling to move forward. Attorney and spokesperson for Utica Fire/New Chapel EMS Coy Travis says the fallout from Noel’s actions has been devastating.
“Obviously, the damage to the company’s reputation caused by Jamey's crimes was that we had a difficult time holding on to employees,” Travis said. “A lot of people just decided they no longer wanted to do business with the company.”
Noel, a former Clark County sheriff and leader of Utica Township fire department, was found guilty of taking millions from the company to fuel a lavish lifestyle. He was sentenced last October to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 27 felonies. He's serving his sentence at the Indiana Department of Corrections.
That lifestyle, investigators say, included boats, planes, tuition payments, child support and more.
“Every single day we were learning one more thing,” Travis said. “Oh, it turns out Jamey also did this. Oh, it turns out Jamey bought a boat. Oh, it turns out Jamey bought a plane.”
In total, a court ordered Noel to repay $3.1 million to victims — including $2.87 million to the fire department alone.
To recover the funds, nearly all of Noel’s assets were ordered sold at auction. In January, dozens of his personal items were auctioned off, including guns, custom suits, and watches. One man who picked up a shotgun in the sale said it was his wife’s fascination with the case that got him there.
“She gets memorabilia, I get a new gun — so I’m happy,” Scott Gibson joked at the time.
That January auction brought in roughly $93,000.
In May, another sale included more than 40 cars — among them, old police cruisers and luxury vehicles. Milford Renfro traveled to French Lick and walked away with one of Noel’s old Crown Vics for $2,700.
“Because it was Jamey Noel’s. That’s the only reason,” Renfro said. “What am I going to do with it? I don’t know. I just bought it on a whim.”
That second auction raised about $1.2 million, before fees. Three of Noel’s homes have also sold, bringing in nearly $1.8 million — though liens and legal costs will chip away at how much goes to victims.
Despite those efforts, the fire department Noel once ran still owes more than $650,000 — and that number could climb.
To distance themselves from the scandal, leaders have renamed the company, hoping for a fresh start and a future free of the Noel name.
“I don’t think anybody looking back now is going to ever be able to hear that name without thinking of what Jamey did,” Travis said. “That name is what we want to rise from. We want that to be a legacy free from him.”
Previous Coverage:
Former Utica Township Fire Department files for bankruptcy
Jamey Noel Fallout | Corruption, betrayal and communities left in chaos
Utica Township restarting volunteer fire department with virtually no funding
'Time to move on' | Jeffersonville backs out of deal to provide fire services to town of Utica
Judge reinstates fire board as Utica faces $30 million fire department, tax increase
Future of Utica Township Fire district in limbo as no decision reached yet amid controversy
Public safety a concern as Clark County officials weigh options to fund fire protection district
Judge reinstates fire board as Utica faces $30 million fire department, tax increase
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