Eglen
BROWNSTOWN — A former Jackson County official who has been accused of stealing more than $18,000 in county funds has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that will allow her to avoid jail time if she completes probation.
Former Jackson County Auditor Staci Eglen has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of theft in connection with a state police investigation that found she stole more than $18,000 in county funds from October to December by creating fake invoices and submitting them to the county treasurer for reimbursement, according to a copy of the plea agreement, which was made public this week in Jackson Circuit Court.
Under the agreement, Eglen will serve a two-year suspended jail sentence on probation and must pay $10,922 in restitution to the Hamilton Township Trustee’s Office and $9,964 in restitution to Jackson County. She also must submit to drug testing and an evaluation from the Jackson County Probation Department to determine whether she needs treatment, counseling, therapy or other rehabilitative assistance.
If Eglen successfully completes probation, she will be able to convert her felony conviction into a Class A misdemeanor, the agreement states. She will be eligible to get off probation after one year if she has paid the restitution and court costs in full and complied with the conditions of her probation.
Jackson Circuit Judge Richard Poynter has scheduled a guilty plea and sentencing hearing for Dec. 18.
Eglen was arrested in May and originally faced nine felonies, including three counts each of fraud, theft and official misconduct, following a monthlong investigation by state police into allegations of misconduct last year. She resigned from her position as auditor effective May 3.
Eglen was booked into the Jackson County Jail on May 24 and released for “time served” the following day, according to jail officials. Court records indicate that she posted a $1,500 bond.
A probable cause affidavit filed in Jackson Circuit Court alleges that Eglen voided several checks that were supposed to be deposited into the Hamilton Township Trustee’s bank account and then submitted fake invoices for the amounts to the Jackson County Treasurer’s Officer in which she listed herself a payee of the funds.
Eglen then allegedly cashed the checks or deposited the funds into her personal bank account, according to the probable cause affidavit.
One check for $1,500 that was originally made out to Toshiba America Business Solutions on Oct. 23 was voided by Eglen, who then submitted a new account payable voucher in November to the county treasurer for “copier maint” but with herself listed as the payee.
Eglen allegedly fabricated an invoice totaling $2,441 made out to Bedford Office Supply Inc. for “toner for printers, scanners, copiers” and submitted it to the county treasurer in October, but the check issued for the payment listed her as the payee instead of the company. She signed the check and cashed $1,900 while depositing $541 into her personal bank account.
State police also allege that she voided other checks that were supposed to be deposited into the Hamilton Township Trustee’s bank account. Eglen told police that “she did this and had them put into one check … so she could put them into her bank account,” according to court filings.
The probable cause affidavit alleges that a $13,529 check written on Dec. 11 listing Eglen as a payee was deposited a few days later into a bank account at Peoples Bank that belonged to her and Jonathan Eglen.
State police were made aware of the alleged fake invoices during a videoconference with officials from the Indiana State Board of Accounts on April 25. Four days later, state police and an official with the Indiana State Board of Accounts met with Eglen at the auditor’s office, where she “admitted that she had fabricated the invoices and received payment for them from the treasurer.”
“She advised that she was having some personal issues and was in need of some extra money,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
It is unclear what those “personal issues” may be. However, Flagstar Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings on Eglen’s home at 6701 N. County Road 240E in Seymour in early May, shortly after she resigned in wake of the investigation, according to court records. In April, Mariner Finance LLC also filed a civil collection complaint against Eglen.
Eglen was selected to be auditor during a Republican caucus to replace former Jackson County Auditor Roger Hurt, who resigned in 2023. She previously was Hurt’s administrative assistant and started working at the auditor’s office in 2011.
“I started on the tax side helping with deductions and all that. Then I moved to claims and utilities, and then I did payroll, Eglen told The Seymour Tribune last year.
The auditor, which is a constitutional office, is the fiscal officer for county government in Indiana and serves as the secretary of the board of county commissioners and the clerk to the county council. As a constitutional office, auditors can only hold two consecutive four-year terms.
The auditor’s responsibilities also include keeping and issuing checks for the county and distributing property tax revenues to the governmental units and agencies for they were collected.
The auditor assists with the budget preparations by developing financial analysis and cash flow projections and also must prepare plats that show ownership and assessed valuation of each parcel in each township of the county.
