Ben Jackson
Former Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson will face up to 64.5 years in prison after entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors Monday.
Jackson, who resigned about a year ago amid an investigation into his use of the township’s credit card, waived his right to a trial during a pretrial conference in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 and entered into a change of plea of guilty on all 17 felony counts and one misdemeanor filed in July related to his theft and misuse of public funds.
Jackson, a Republican, pleaded guilty to charges that he stole and misused public funds to cover more than $1.12 million in personal expenses he paid for with the township’s credit card over an eight-year period.
Those included lavish trips across the United States and overseas, college tuition for his children, retail purchases, home improvement projects, among several other things, according to a report by the State Board of Accounts (SBOA).
Decatur Superior Court Judge Matthew Bailey, serving as special judge, scheduled sentencing for Jan. 21 at 9:30 a.m.
Greg Long, Jackson’s defense attorney, said sentencing guidelines are a minimum of one year in jail if the sentence is served concurrently, and up to 64-and-a-half-years if the judge decides the sentence is to be served consecutively.
Jackson pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of official misconduct, eight felony counts of theft and one misdemeanor count of theft. The official misconduct charges are all Level 6 felonies, while the theft charges include six Level 5 felonies, two Level 6 felonies and one misdemeanor.
Jackson, 57, who had been released from jail in July in lieu of $50,000 bond, wore a black suit and had three supporters with him. He repeatedly answered with a simple “yes,” as Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay established the factual basis of all 18 charges included in the plea agreement.
Jackson used the township credit card to pay for $657,831 in personal trips across 10 countries, $150,078 in retail purchases, $90,915 in tuition and school expenses for his children, $39,913 for personal utilities, among other things from 2016 to 2024, according to the SBOA report.
In September, a special judge approved a divorce settlement between Jackson and his then-wife Amy Jackson in which he agreed to assume full liability for any potential restitution, attorney fees and debt stemming from criminal charges filed against him.
Under another provision in the agreement, Ben Jackson agreed to be responsible for federal tax liabilities on any jointly filed tax returns during the marriage. The provision states that Ben Jackson will bear full responsibility for any deficiencies, penalties or interest assessments that many arise due to “malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance” connected to his public office.
The SBOA report also found that Ben Jackson used the township credit card for $18,990 in home improvement projects on their former home on Laurel Drive — including $8,198 for backyard deck and landscaping from April to June 2020 on the home listed for sale.
The report also includes photos of the work taken from Ben Jackson’s Facebook page.
Jackson also used the township credit card for $4,163 for carpeting, $2,595 for plumbing, $1,353 for landscaping, $1,261 for electric work and $999 for flooring, according to the report.
Jackson held the role of Columbus Township trustee for 11 years. He was selected in a party caucus in 2013 to replace Fred Barkes as trustee and won his first four-year term in the 2014 election.
