ALBION — A theft charge has been filed against former Noble County surveyor Scott Zeigler, stemming from allegations in a state audit that he misused public funds.
Zeigler, 48, Albion, is facing a single Class D felony charge of theft. That charge carries a potential penalty of six months to three years in jail, if convicted.
The Noble County Prosecutor’s Office has recused itself from the case, and the criminal charge was filed by special prosecutor Donald Shively.
The criminal case is running parallel to a civil case filed by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office in early March, in which the state is trying to collect more than $125,000 from Zeigler and more than $30,000 from an insurance company that bonded him while he was in office.
The charges stem from alleged incidents during Zeigler’s last term as surveyor, running between 2009 and 2012, that are outlined in an audit report released in March 2016.
At the time, Zeigler had filed a 20-page response disputing the findings of the audit.
The criminal charge is based on only one alleged incident, a June 2, 2011, purchase of rebar caps used in surveying that were personalized to say “SDZEIGLER,” according to court documents. The purchase allegedly was made with $169.50 of county money.
In Zeigler’s response to the audit, he had offered to repay the county for the caps, “but under strong protest.”
The civil plenary case was filed on March 3 and seeks to collect money the state claims Zeigler misused. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., which bonded Zeigler during his time in office, is also listed as a defendant in the case.
The civil filing is broken down into three counts, with the first two seeking money from Zeigler, specifically, and the third seeking money from Nationwide Insurance.
In the first count, the civil case details multiple purchases and expenses the Attorney General’s Office claims Zeigler used for personal gain or for projects that were not for the county’s benefit.
According to court documents, the state is seeking reimbursement for purchases totaling $19,054.67 it claims Zeigler made for personal use, including $922.23 for plumbing parts; $632.37 for electrical parts; $1,116.07 for tractor parts; $2,161.40 for lumber and building supplies; $1,363.91 for tools and equipment; $279.79 for power inverters; $184.65 for diesel oil and cans; $753.09 for gloves and clothing; $316.97 for concrete mix; $7,961.48 for other tools; and $145.56 for other personal items.
The filing also identifies $2,516 for a construction plan that solely benefited a private property owner; a $5,149.70 payment to a contractor for a drainage project on private property that was not for the county’s benefit; $994.90 for 10 galvanized gates for private property and $169.50 for rebar caps used for private survey work; $1,398.17 for a fence construction project in a pasture near a private property owner’s barn after a sinkhole formed due to a collapsed drain pipe; $98.86 for Zeigler’s spouse’s cellphone plan and late fee; $108.76 in charges from usage fees with insufficient documentation to show they were for county business; and $2,117.98 in materials that were shipped to Zeigler’s home or other private addresses.
In total, the state is seeking repayment of $32,214.85.
In a second count in the civil filing, the state is requesting a judgment for $94,644.55, detailing most, but not all, of the same purchases and payments in the first count. The amount is larger because Indiana law allows for the state to seek relief at three times the actual loss.
The third part of the civil case seeks repayment of $31,207.81 from Nationwide Insurance for funds “misappropriated, diverted, or misapplied” by Zeigler while he was covered by a professional bond.
An initial hearing in the theft case is set for April 28 in Noble Superior Court 1.