Notre Dame Law Clinic Employee Accused Of Embezzlement

IL for www.theindianalawyer.com

An employee of the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center has been charged with 11 felony counts relating to what the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office say is a seven-year-long racketeering scheme in which the university found more than $199,000 was stolen.

Jennifer S. Ihns, 44, was charged Friday with level 5 felony corrupt business influence, nine counts of theft and a count of forgery as either Class D or Level 6 felonies. Prosecutors said Ihns “through a pattern of racketeering activity” enriched herself with more than 200 thefts and 95 forgeries of checks written to herself or to third parties that she cashed. Ihns was released from the St. Joseph County Jail after posting $10,000 bond and was scheduled to appear before a magistrate Tuesday afternoon.

Ihns was clinic administrator after beginning her career with the Clinical Law Center, formerly the Legal Aid Clinic, as a paralegal and office coordinator, investigators said in charging documents. The charges accuse Ihns, who had signatory authority over all clinic bank accounts, of writing nine checks she cashed in amounts from $725 to $1,500 between 2012 and June 2016. The checks were drawn on the Notre Dame Legal Aid Interest on Lawyers Trust Account fund and the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic operating expenses account.

Investigator David Newton of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office wrote in a supplemental affidavit in support of probable cause that Notre Dame conducted an inquiry into the handling of the law center’s funds, which was provided to one assistant dean and one associate dean responsible for the clinic’s oversight. “Both administrators reviewed those documents the same day and immediately identified wide-spread evidence of improper handling of Clinic funds,” the affidavit says.

Ihns initially denied any knowledge, but admitted “I did it” when confronted with specific details of improprieties and altered checks, according to the affidavit. Ihns allegedly said she had a financial need and all the money was gone, estimating she’d been embezzling for about two years and was responsible for $20,000 to $30,000.

The university then undertook a seven-year lookback that “revealed evidence that Ihns stole over $199,000,” the affidavit said, and the evidence was turned over to authorities. “The breadth of all her illicit activities may never be fully known — but there are over 255 separate checks on separate days representing separate thefts of University/Clinic/Client funds over a seven-and-one-half-year period,” the affidavit says.

The document says no evidence was found of specific losses to any client, but Ihns’ recordkeeping causes ambiguity. “In those cases, the University paid those Clinic clients whatever funds appeared appropriate to ensure that Ihns’ conduct harmed only the university.”

A spokeswoman for the law school did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Indiana Faces Records Request Backlog As Pence Drags Feet

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The Indiana governor’s office faces a backlog of public records requests largely stemming from Vice President Mike Pence’s tenure, and the delay has been exacerbated by Pence’s refusal to give his successor digital access to his emails, including those sent from a private AOL account he sometimes used to conduct state business.

More than 50 records requests are pending before the office of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who was Pence’s hand-picked replacement on the ballot after Trump selected him to be the GOP vice presidential nominee last July.

The vast majority of the requests seek correspondence Pence had with staffers and political groups, including emails routed through his private AOL.com email account, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

The pending requests are from private citizens, law firms, political parties and news organizations, including the AP.

Pence has touted himself as a champion of a free press and the First Amendment, though he repeatedly stonewalled public records requests as governor, often delaying their release — if not denying them outright.

Thirteen boxes of paper copies of Pence’s emails were delivered to the Indiana governor’s office in March, after his use of a private AOL email account was first revealed. But public records experts say the vice president’s reluctance since then to provide digital access to his correspondence appears to be a deliberate stalling tactic.

Indiana University journalism professor Gerry Lanosga, a former investigative reporter, said that state law requires Pence to provide digital records, like emails, in their original form.

“The fact that they were providing boxes of paper printouts of digital records is disappointing and clearly is meant to make it difficult to review and release the records,” Lanosga said.

Pence spokesman Marc Lotter declined to answer detailed questions from AP, and instead emailed a one sentence statement.

“Documents relating to Governor Pence’s official service to Indiana are being preserved by the state in full compliance with the law,” Lotter wrote.

Holcomb spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson said the governor’s office requested digital access to emails. But Pence has yet to follow through on a commitment to do so. Digital access would make the process of combing through the documents considerably easier for Holcomb’s four-person legal team, which is also tasked with handling the administration’s day-to-day legal needs.

Daniel Byron, a media law and First Amendment attorney, said the delay by Pence is hypocritical given he repeatedly attacked Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail for refusing to release emails from her time as secretary of state.

“He was after Hillary about emails and access,” said Byron, a partner with the Indianapolis-based firm Bingham, Greenebaum, Doll. “Do people let him get away with that?”

Earlier this year, lawyers for Pence argued unsuccessfully in a civil case that Indiana courts had no authority to force him to comply with public records law.

Pence’s AOL account was subjected to a phishing scheme last spring, before Trump chose him to join the GOP presidential ticket. Pence’s contacts were sent an email falsely claiming that the governor and his wife were stranded in the Philippines and needed money.

The governor moved to a different AOL account with additional security measures, but has since stopped using the new personal account since he was sworn-in as vice president, Lotter previously said.

INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick and Treasurer Kelly Mitchell today announced the winners of the 2017 Governor’s STEM Team awards.

“These four students have demonstrated excellence in subjects that are fueling the innovation and entrepreneurship to build our economic future,” Gov. Holcomb said. “It’s a pleasure to recognize their hard work on a statewide level and elevate Indiana’s academic superstars. I can’t wait to see where the future takes these bright young Hoosiers.”

The awards highlight Indiana’s elite high school students for their work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Each winner received a $1,000 college scholarship through Indiana’s CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan, letterman jackets identifying them as members of the Governor’s STEM Team and tickets to Gen Con Indy—the longest-running gaming convention in the world.

“Success in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math drives our students and our state forward,” said Dr. Jennifer McCormick, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. “I am excited to see the passion for STEM exhibited by Ujwala, Samantha, Miranda and Truman, and I am honored to be a part of the 2017 Governor’s STEM Team award ceremony.”

“STEM education is vital to developing Indiana’s workforce, and CollegeChoice 529 is helping young Hoosiers reach educational goals in these critical fields,” said Kelly Mitchell, Indiana Treasurer of State. “As chair of the CollegeChoice Plans, I am delighted to help reward the outstanding students of the Governor’s STEM Team for their achievements and see where their studies take them in the years to come.”

Four students—one from each of the four STEM subject areas—were honored in a ceremony today in the Governor’s Office.

Science Winner

Student:  Ujwala Pamidimukkala

Attends:  Columbus North High School, Senior

Accomplishments:

Ujwala ranked first in her class of 435 students. She has earned a number of awards and achievements throughout high school, including National Merit Finalist, U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidate, and Indiana Academic All-Star Finalist.

Ujwala also placed first in the state for both Medical Math and Pharmacy Tech in the 2016 Health Occupations Students of America competition.

Future Plans:

Ujwala plans to continue to pursue these academic interest in college by majoring in molecular biology.  She aspires to be a cardiovascular surgeon.

Technology Winner

Student:  Samantha Fassnacht

Attends:  Westfield High School, Senior

Accomplishments:

Samantha has been recognized several times from the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Award, a national competition that recognizes high school women for their contributions to technological fields.

In 2016 and 2017, she was selected as the Indiana state winner, and in 2017 she earned a National Honorable Mention award for her involvement and experience in computer science and technology.

Samantha is also a National Merit Finalists and a US Presidential Scholars Candidate.

Future Plans:

Samantha intends to study computer science at the University of Toronto.

Engineering Winner

Student:  Miranda Shook

Attends:  Greenfield-Central High School, Senior

Accomplishments:

Miranda is ranked ninth in her class and will earn both an Academic and Technical Honors Diplomas when she graduates this month. She was the president of the Women in STEM group at Greenfield-Central and has participated in many engineering activities and competitions.

She was the high school’s driver and engineer for the Nasa Rover Challenge, leading her team to a second place victory and fifth place in the high school division. Miranda represented her school and Rover team in a presentation to First Lady Pence. She was a designer for the Vex Robot competition and chosen by her school to represent the Rover and Vex competition programs.  Miranda also presented her paper on possible energy sources on Mars at NASA.

Future Plans:

Miranda will be a German ambassador with the Congress Bundesstag Youth Exchange before heading to Valparaiso University to study Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

Math Winner

Student:  Truman Bennet

Attends:  Marion High School, Senior

Accomplishments:

Truman has earned a number of awards and achievements in Mathematics throughout his high school career. He earned a perfect score on his AP Calculus AB Exam in 2016, and he was one of only 18 students in the world (approximately 0.006 percent of all applicants) to earn every possible point on the assessment. This distinction was honored by the Indiana legislature and the City of Marion.

Additionally, Truman earned first place in both the individual and team categories in the 2016 Huntington University Math Competition, first place in the 2016 Trine University Math Competition, and first place in the 2014 Huntington University Math Competition.

Future Plans:

Truman intends to one day obtain a Ph.D. in Mathematics.

Students were nominated for the first Governor’s STEM Team earlier this year, and a panel of STEM professionals, teachers and university representatives evaluated more than 100 applications to select the winners based on academic performance, work in research, leadership, community service and extracurricular involvement.

High resolution photos of all winners are available upon request. Nominations for the 2018 Governor’s STEM Team will open in the fall.

Pictured Left to Right: Ujwala Pamidimukkala, Samantha Fassnacht, Indiana Treasurer Kelly Mitchell, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Miranda Shook, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick, Truman Bennet.

Tim Deisher

Ellada Hadjisavva

Jude McCord

Cate Sisco

Phyllip Davis

Randall Forster

Lon Walter

Candy Cooper

Julie Beery

Amy Word

Cory Ray

Jordan Baer

Donna Robinson

Charles D. Eubank

Jesse Daniel

Larry Rhodes

Kalah Georgette

Libby Treado

Joshua Calhoun

Susan Beacon

Becky Gish

DR Sholar

Deborah Wintner

Jamie Fuch

Brenda Hughes

Wayne Ellis

Jimmy Leflter

Roy N Bayne

Steven Pirnat

Christina Wick

Matt Riordan

Brock Lance

Timothy Barnett

Tim Deisher

Ashley Hammer

Tim Deisher

Rick Tomlinson

Todd Morgan

Modesto Caldera

Jaima A. Graham

John Franks

John Miller

Scott Danks 

Kalah Georgette-Vowel

Dennis Au

Tim Mills

Rick Herdes

Mike Hahn

Dan Whitehead

Kirsten Noffsinger

Tom Wedding

Eddie Robinson

Cindy Basinski

Sharon Harrison

Thom Wilder

Janice Geurin Labhart-Miller

Susan Hyatt

Greg Woods

Chase Coslett

Susie Webb

Michelle Kirk

Libby Treado

Tim Black

Chad Brady

Emily Cosby

Jeremy Schnepper

Tracy Hayden

Lisa Roth

John Miller

TROPICANA EVANSVILLE SPONSORS EVANSVILLE HYDROFESTâ„¢

Tropicana Evansville is proud to be the official Hotel & Casino of Evansville HydroFestâ„¢.  This event will be staged on the Ohio Riverfront in Downtown Evansville, Indiana over the Labor Day weekend, September 1 – 3, 2017, hosting the American Power Boat Association’s North American Championships.

“For the past 22 years, Tropicana Evansville has provided entertainment on the Ohio River.  The decision to bring more excitement to the riverfront was easy to make,” said John Chaszar, General Manager of Tropicana Evansville.  “We invite our HydroFest guests to return in late 2017 when we open our new 75,000 square foot land based casino and entertainment facility.”

Admission cost for Evansville HydroFest is $10 total for all 3 days.  Children 12 and under are free.  The wristbands will go on sale June 29th in a variety of Evansville and Tri-state locations.  For more information about Evansville HydroFest visit www.evansvillehydrofest.com.

“Race Teams, APBA Officials, and Fans will enjoy the convenience and quality of Tropicana Evansville’s Hotel and Casino, which is right across Riverside Drive from our beautiful Ohio River race course,” said Randy Lientz, Race Director of Evansville HydroFest™.  “We appreciate the strong support of Tropicana Evansville and look forward to more exciting announcements with them about other events during Evansville HydroFest™!”