The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will host a Law Enforcement Explorer open house and Recruitment Night on Wednesday, October 12th, 2016 at 6 p.m. The event will take place at the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center located at 1901 Lynch Road. The program is open to young men and women ages 16-20 as well as their families.

Law Enforcement Exploring provides educational training programs for young adults on the purposes, mission and objectives of law enforcement. The program provides career orientation experiences, leadership opportunities and community service activities.

Sheriff Dave Wedding explained, “Law Enforcement Exploring is a great way for students to develop leadership skills and improve self-confidence.” Sheriff Wedding added, “Through fun and exciting ‘hands-on’ career related activities and community service opportunities, students will gain valuable experience that will help prepare them for a career in law enforcement.”

The primary goals of the program are to help young adults choose a career path within law enforcement and to challenge them to become responsible citizens within their communities. During the open house, potential post members will have the opportunity to observe just a sample of what they will see and experience throughout their experience with the law enforcement explorer post program. They will also have an opportunity to meet and speak with current Explorers.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post 82 is open to young men and women ages 16 through 20 years old that are enrolled in High School or College with an interest in learning more about careers in the field of law enforcement. Explorer Post 82 is entering its fifth year in Vanderburgh County. Last year, over 20 youth from local high schools and universities participated in the Explorer Post. During the year, Explorers participated in classroom and hands-on-training with full time law enforcement and emergency services personnel. Training included: first aid, handcuffing and arrest techniques, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, criminal investigations, and community emergency response.

Along with the class room and hands on training, Explorers interacted with children at the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office Tent at the Vanderburgh County 4H Fair, the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival, and staffing positions during Field Sobriety Check Points. Explorers have also participated in several “Ride-A-Long” opportunities.

Agencies from federal, state and local levels coordinate the Law Enforcement Exploring programs throughout the United States. The majority of the community programs are managed by local police departments, including sheriffs, chiefs of police and state police.

Nationally, over 33,000 explorers participate in Law Enforcement Exploring. The program highlights include: the National Law Enforcement Exploring Leadership Academies, motor patrol ride-alongs, career achievement awards, National Law Enforcement Exploring Conferences and scholarship opportunities.

Law Enforcement Career Exploring posts typically meet on a monthly basis during the school year. Most programs parallel the high school calendar and begin in the fall. There are a number of programs that start at other times during the year to meet the needs of the host organization and participants. Programs are flexible enough to fit in with other activities.

For more information contact Deputy Erik Nilssen at (812) 421-6201 or email him atenilssen@vanderburghsheriff.com. You may also follow the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Explorer Post on Twitter @LEPost82 or on face book at VCSO Explorer Post 82. For more information on Explorer Posts visit www.learningforlife.org/exploring.

The Indiana Department of Transportation, the Indiana State Police and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources remind drivers to stay alert as deer become more active in fall months on Indiana’s roadways.

Nearly 50 percent of all vehicle crashes involving deer occur between October and December.  Deer are generally more active during mating season in late October into early November. And with many farmers harvesting crops, deer could be on the move at any time, encountering roads more frequently and increasing the potential for collisions.

Across the state in 2015, there were more than 15,000 deer-related collisions, including vehicles crashing attempting to avoid striking a deer.

With the increased number of deer heading toward the roadways, deer-vehicle crashes will happen, but drivers can take measures to keep collisions to a minimum. Knowing when deer are most active and practicing defensive driving will help reduce your chances of becoming a statistic:

• Deer are most active between sunset and sunrise, especially in rural areas.
• Deer often travel in groups. If you see one, others are likely nearby. Stay alert!
• Pay special attention in areas where you have seen deer before and in areas near “Deer Crossing” warning signs.
• Exercise caution along woodlot edges, at hills and blind turns.
• Use high-beam headlights at night when there is no opposing traffic.
• Scan for illuminated eyes and dark silhouettes near the side of or on the roadway.
• If you see a deer, slow your speed drastically, even if the deer is far away.
• NEVER swerve to avoid hitting a deer. More serious crashes occur when drivers try to miss a deer but hit something else.
• Buckle up!

Studies have shown that novelties like deer whistles are ineffective in deterring deer. The best way to avoid an accident is to be alert.

Even when practicing safe driving, sometimes hitting a deer is inevitable. If a driver hits a deer, it is important to remain calm and do not touch the deer or approach it. Wounded deer are unpredictable and can be dangerous.  Drivers should pull off the road, remain in the vehicle and make sure everyone is safe.  Motorists involved in a collision are required to call the police and report a crash with at least $1,000 in property damage or if someone is injured.

To report a deer carcass on an interstate, U.S. highway or state road, contact one of INDOT’s six districts to report it. Find INDOT district contact information at http://indot.in.gov.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced today the return of more than $415,000 to Indiana homeowners victimized by a complicated tax sale scheme orchestrated by California-based 4Bridge, LLC and Colorado-based Asset Recovery, Inc.

According to complaints filed by the Attorney General’s Office in Marion County Circuit Court this year, 4Bridge and Asset Recovery perpetrated a complicated scheme that took advantage of vulnerable Hoosiers across the State who had fallen behind in their real-estate taxes and who did not understand the tax sale process. Homeowners in Elkhart, Howard, Lake, Madison, Marion, Vanderburgh, and Vigo counties will receive a refund.

The settlement calls for restitution totaling $418,525.97 to 24 Indiana homeowners and a permanent injunction preventing further behavior described in the complaints:

• Violations of the Home Loan Practices Act:  Concealing material information in connection with real estate transactions and engaging in real estate transactions without proper licensure.
• Violations of the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act:  Unfair, abusive, or deceptive acts, omissions, or practices in connection with consumer transactions.

“Rarely have we seen a scam that so brazenly exploited desperate property owners and took advantage of their lack of understanding of a complicated legal process. Victims not only lost their property but thousands of dollars rightfully owed to them,” Zoeller said.

Consumers whose funds had already been distributed will receive monthly payments from Asset Recovery and 4Bridge made payable to, and distributed by the Attorney General’s Office. The remaining homeowners are able to claim the surplus available to them. The Marion County Circuit Court has already entered Orders directing funds to be paid to several of the affected homeowners.

Zoeller added his office is pursuing an action against other companies he alleges conducted similar schemes across the state. Earlier this year, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit – for up to $12 million in restitution and penalties – against FLRC, LLC. / Oak Tree, LLC; and Coastal Title, Inc. Several individuals operating on behalf of the companies were named in the lawsuit as well.

These schemes impacted at least 48 vulnerable Hoosiers in Allen, Johnson, Lake and Marion counties, attempting to swindle them out of surplus funds upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.

“These cases have not only highlighted how homeowners were being exploited, but also assisted local officials in providing more education to citizens,” Zoeller said. “Working with county officials has been key in identifying and preventing potential fraud.”

4Bridge and Asset Recovery’s Scheme

When a homeowner falls behind on their property taxes, the county lists the property at tax sale. The minimum bid set for these homes is the amount owed in taxes. If the winning bid exceeds the amount of the unpaid property tax owed, the county claims the tax amount, special assessments, penalties and the costs of the auction. The original homeowner is entitled to any surplus amount beyond what may be owed to a mortgage lender. This surplus may be considered a rough equivalent to their home’s equity.

The original homeowner then has one year to redeem the property if he or she can pay back the taxes originally owed. If the homeowner can’t pay within a year, then the bidder is awarded ownership of the property. It’s during this one-year time window that 4Bridge and Asset Recovery perpetrated the scheme.

Using court and public records, the companies and their agents located and contacted the original homeowners whose properties had been sold at tax sales for large surplus amounts. They deceived at least 24 homeowners by making misrepresentations about their legal rights to redemption or surplus in the tax sales. The scam worked best with property owners who did not have an outstanding mortgage that would have to first be paid off with the surplus.

By exploiting the homeowners’ unfamiliarity, 4Bridge, Asset Recovery and their agents persuaded the homeowners to sign quitclaim deeds and other legal paperwork turning over their remaining legal interest in the properties to the companies. 4Bridge and Asset Recovery, in turn, were then able to submit claims for the tax sale surplus funds that the 24 original owners would have been entitled to – in amounts ranging from $3,000 up to $53,000.

The Attorney General’s Office through its Homeowner Protection Unit (HPU) fielded complaints about the tax sale scheme from the affected owners and from county officials, who were able to identify the potential scheme only after the deed exchanges were filed with the county offices.

The complaint notes violations including “unfair, abusive or deceptive” conduct; “incurable deceptive acts” and that the entire scheme conducted by Asset Recovery is considered “unconscionable”.  Under the settlement the companies did not admit wrongdoing but have agreed to comply with settlement terms.

Tips for consumers

Zoeller added the AG’s Office’s investigation continues due to concerns other homeowners may have fallen victim to this scam or similar scams in Marion County or other counties. Owners who suspect they have been defrauded are asked to file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at www.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 1-800-382-5516. Owners are further encouraged to contact their local county offices to verify any information they may receive concerning the tax sale process.

To avoid fraud, Zoeller urges any distressed homeowner facing a tax sale due to unpaid property taxes or foreclosure due to unpaid mortgage payments to first seek legal advice from a qualified attorney before engaging in any quitclaim deed or other legal transaction. Free legal advice is available from the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network at www.877gethope.com or from Indiana Legal Services, which recently received a grant from the AG’s Office to support this type of counseling.

More information about real estate scams is located on the Attorney General’s website here.