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Felony theft charges filed regarding missing shelter funds
A seven-month investigation into missing funds for the Putnam County Animal Shelter yielded three felony charges and one misdemeanor against two men, the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.
Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter has filed two Level 6 felonies and one Class A misdemeanor against Ron Brown, 46, of Crawfordsville, and one Level 6 felony against Ben O'Hair of Greencastle.
Brown, who had helped the county pursue grants for restarting the shelter, is charged with theft and two counts of deception.
O'Hair, a local heating and cooling contractor who did work on the shelter building, is charged with theft.
The investigation began in early March when an internal accounts audit at the Putnam County Sheriff's Department revealed irregularities in the shelter fund.
At that point, the investigation was turned over the Indiana State Police and Indiana State Board of Accounts.
In a probable cause affidavit completed earlier this week, ISP Det. Dontonio Nibbs outlined his findings.
Nibbs' investigation revealed that the Putnam County Auditor's Office approved payments to Brown -- specifically to R. Brown Engineering, LLC/Ronald Brown -- totaling $33,286.10.
Checks were written directly to Brown, as he claimed they were reimbursements for payments he had already made to contractors.
However, most of the money was not paid to contractors, the only exception being $5,740 to O'Hair, a portion of the total the county owed his business.
According to Nibbs' report, Brown conceded as much during the investigation.
"Ronald Brown acknowledged he turned in claim vouchers to the Putnam County Auditor's Office and received payment," Nibbs wrote. "Brown also acknowledged he paid O'Hair some money, but did not pay any other vendors and kept the money."
The claim checks from Putnam County were deposited into a bank account under the name R. Brown Engineering GRP, but no corresponding checks to contractors were written.
In the matter of the deception charge, Brown was apparently taking advantage of the confusion surrounding who was in charge of the animal shelter funds during its reorganization period. The probable cause affidavit noted Hallett told ISP and SBA investigators that it is normally an agency's director who signs to authorize claims.
On the forms in question, Brown signed his own name, even though Brien Holsapple was at the time the director of animal control.
Nibbs' report also states that a number of the Brown's claims were submitted and approved as emergency claims, even though they did not qualify as one the enumerated reasons the county can issue an emergency claim.
The indiscretion of which O'Hair is accused did not come until after the investigation of Brown commenced. On Monday, March 2, the PCSD Chief Deputy Phil Parker approached the Putnam County Commissioners about paying the four vendors who had not received payment for work at the shelter -- GT Systems, HOP Security, Barry Grimes and O'Hair Heating and Cooling.
The commissioners approved the payments on that day, but the subsequent investigation revealed that O'Hair had already been paid the $5,740 by Brown, but he did not inform the county of the previous payments.
Instead, the county wrote a check to O'Hair in the amount of $22,849.81.
The charge springs from the $5,740 that O'Hair was apparently paid for twice.
Bookwalter told the Banner Graphic that his office was requesting a warrant for Brown's arrest, while O'Hair will be summoned to court.
While no further criminal charges will be filed in this case, the State Board of Accounts will still issue a report with its findings. Issues likely to be addressed include the improper use of emergency claims, issuing claims not signed by an agency director and the double payment of county claims.
"These issues will most likely be addressed by the State Board of Accounts in their final audit report," Bookwalter said, "and they will decide if any civil penalties will be imposed."
Dates will be set for Brown and O'Hair in Putnam Circuit Court after the warrant and summons have been served.