Clinton County sheriff, wife ordered to pay $329,360 in fund misuse case

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) — The Clinton County sheriff, his wife and their company were ordered last week to pay $329,360.47 over the improper use of jail commissary funds and the costs of a state audit, according to a court ruling released Monday.

The ruling came from a 30-page Indiana Board of Accounts in 2021 in which Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly and his wife, Ashley Kelly, and their company Leonne LLC were accused of improper spending. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office in March 2023 sued the sheriff, his wife and their company, leading to Wednesday’s summary judgment from Special Judge Thomas Lett of Tipton County.

The State Board of Accounts had conducted an examination of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Jail Commissary’s financial records for the period from Jan. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2021. The audit report revealed that 85 checks totaling $190,916.61 were issued from the Jail Commissary Fund to Leonne LLC without the necessary written agreement. Additionally, checks totaling $32,967.92 were issued to Ashley Kelly without authorization, with at least $28,718.04 deposited by her.

The judgment total includes $109,725.82 in audit costs.

Previous court rulings had also said that the sheriff had improperly used commissary funds without the required county approval and ordered their repayment.

Judge Lett has yet to decide whether to increase the fine under the Indiana Crime Victims Relief Act, and whether additional claims of misspending could force the Kellys to repay more money. The judge also left open a question as to whether the Kellys intentionally caused the losses.

A criminal case remains against the sheriff alone. He was charged in March 2022 in Clinton Circuit Court with a low-level felony count of conflict of interest, and three low-level felony counts of official misconduct. That case is set for a jury trial in May, although it’s been rescheduled previously so that date may change.

The Republican sheriff’s four-year term is set to conclude at the end of 2026. He ran unopposed in November 2018 and 2022.

In Indiana, an elected sheriff who breaks the law can be removed from office through impeachment by the General Assembly, through a lawsuit based on official misconduct, or through conviction of a felony. Indiana law has no mechanism for recall elections.

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