State Board of Accounts says ex-trustee misused $138K of taxpayer money

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Indiana State Board of Accounts published its report about former Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles' stewardship of taxpayer money, and it isn't flattering for Coles.

The State Board of Accounts documents much of what the Journal & Courier has reported since July 2020 about Coles' management of the office.

All totaled, the Indiana State Board of Accounts found that Coles spent $138,310.68 of taxpayer money that either had nothing to do with the township or its operations or was a conflict of interest by Coles selling her property to the township, according to the report.

The findings were forwarded to the Indiana Attorney General's Office and the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's Office.

The Journal & Courier emailed Coles a copy of the report and asked if she had any comments about it. She has not responded.

With the help of former township employees and board members, the Journal & Courier extensively reported on Coles' misuse of taxpayer money during 2021 and 2022, as well as the the Indiana State Board of Accounts and Indiana State Police investigations.

Coles pleaded guilty Nov. 9 to tax exemption fraud, a Class B misdemeanor, admitting she used the township's tax exemption to avoid paying sales taxes on personal purchases from Menards; to conflict of interest for selling her property to the township; and to two counts of official misconduct for various abuses of her authority.

The remaining 38 indictments will be dismissed at the Jan. 22 sentencing.

Judge Randy Williams took Coles' plea under advisement, so she technically is not yet convicted. He set Jan. 12 as a hearing date to determine the amount of restitution Coles might be ordered to pay.

Indiana State Board of Account's report

The Indiana State Board of Accounts' 47-page report signed Dec. 11 spans Coles' term from Jan. 1, 2019 to Oct. 19, 2022, when she resigned. It details Coles' misuse of taxpayer money.

"The Township's budgets for 2019, 2020 and 2021 included a line item for trainings in the amountof $3,000, $5,000, and $5,000, respectively. Typically, Trustees attend Indiana State Board of Accountstrainings and trainings hosted by the Indiana Township Association," the report states.

"For the years 2019 through 2021, Coles spent $24,268 for trainings which were not typical and lacked a clear and transparent Township business purpose, exceeding the appropriated amounts by $11,268."

"The trainings were charged to the Township credit card and consisted of 44 individual charges or transactions. The trainings had common themes of entrepreneurship and self-help for the mind, body, and spirit. These trainings were not focused on how to aid the people of the Township, provide fire protection, or provide and maintain the cemeteries, as described in the duties of the Trustee ...," the report states.

Some of the training was paid from township assistance funds, which are specifically designated to aid the poor, according to the report.

The report also noted that Coles paid $270 for massages and $112 for pedicures on Nov. 10, 2020.

More: Fairfield Township taxpayers funding trustee's meditation, massages, online learning

Coles told investigators the office was closed for the day and the experience was for employee training/bonding.

One employee told state investigators that Coles instructed them to lock the township offices so the township board could not meet there. The employees then met Coles for lunch, got massages and pedicures — all on the taxpayers' dime.

"The second employee stated that there was 'no team building, unless you consider (team building) going to the spa,'" according to the state report.

Coles spent $5,130 on exercise equipment, then stored some of it inside a garage near the office so the staff could use it, according to what she told state investigators. The garage is not heated or air conditioned. Other pieces of exercise equipment were stowed at the barn near Greenbush Cemetery, which the township and its trustee is responsible to maintain.

The report cites many undocumented charges, some of which Coles claimed were fraudulent. The report indicates they were not, and the credit card company re-instated the charges after Coles attempted to get them removed, according to the report.

One of the charges was $454.94 for a $450 gift card purchased at Walmart, according to the report.

The state investigators indicated they often found no supporting documentation or invoice to account for what Coles bought.

The report cites state codes, noting, "Supporting documentation such as receipts, canceled checks, tickets, invoices, bills, contracts, and other public records must be available for examination to provide supporting information for the validity and accountability of monies disbursed. Payments without supporting documentation may be the personal obligation of the responsible official or employee."

In September 2021, the Journal & Courier requested to inspect credit card statements and supporting documents for charges such as receipts. Coles refused.

The Indiana Public Access Counsel published a report on the J&C's complaint against Coles, indicating he believed Coles violated the open record laws. The Journal & Courier sued the township and Coles to force her to provide the credit card statements and receipts. She provided public access to the credit card statements, but claimed the receipts were destroyed by former employees.

More: Counselor issues opinion Fairfield Township trustee violated Access to Public Records Act

In November 2022 — about six weeks after Coles resigned rather than face a judge and be removed from office —the State Board of Accounts also inspected township properties searching for furniture, tools, and appliances purchased with taxpayer money. The value of the property that investigators did not find was nearly $3,000, according to the report.

Property is supposed to be documented and inventoried, according to the report, which noted this was not done with the purchase of furniture.

The State Board of Accounts report indicates that Fairfield Township taxpayers paid $1,779.98 over three years for Coles' iPhone and Apple watch. The phone and watch were never returned to the township by Coles after she resigned, according to the report.

Phones used for township business are supposed to have their numbers published so the public knows how to reach the township employee. This wasn't done, the report states.

The report found that the township had no checks and balances when Coles was trustee.

"There were no internal controls evident, such as oversight, review, or approval processes, over the Township funds, including disbursements," the report states. "Coles was the sole person responsible for all financial processes of the Township... ."

The report indicates that Coles or Seth Bell, a former township employee and contractor, cashed in rebates earned on township purchases for their personal use. Coles used $1,491.45 for Menard rebates, and Bell used $126.92, according to the report.

"We did not find on any Menards invoices paid by the Township where any portion of these rebates were applied to the purchase prices of items purchased for the Township, as they would have been documented on the invoices paid by the Township," according to the report, which also noted there are six remaining outstanding rebates that Coles still needs to return to the taxpayers.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Report: Lafayette area trustee misused $138K of taxpayer money