Jackson
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey
Holden-Kay formally charged former Columbus Township Trustee Benjamin Jackson, 56, 1802 Laurel Drive, with nine counts of theft and nine counts of official misconduct.
The official misconduct charges are Level 6 felonies and the theft charges range from misdemeanor to Level 5 and Level 6 felonies.
Jackson is not in custody at this time and has not been booked into the Bartholomew County Jail.
Jackson resigned from his position after the Indiana State Police began a criminal investigation in November 2024 into irregularities with township finances involving credit card purchases. The Indiana State Board of Accounts published a special investigation report in May, documenting $1,123,334.27 in personal expenses paid for with credit cards for Columbus Township.
The charges come roughly two months after state auditors released a special investigation report, alleging that Jackson racked up $1.12 million in personal expenses on a township credit card over an eight-year period.
The personal expenses allegedly included lavish trips across the United States and overseas, college tuition for his children, retail purchases, home improvement projects, among several other things.
Jackson allegedly 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.
The case was filed in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 and a special judge has been appointed, Judge Matthew Bailey of Decatur Superior Court.
The filing of a criminal charge is simply an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. The Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit the prosecutor from further commenting on this matter.
Holden-Kay declined further comment about the filing.
In the probable cause affidavit, the State Board of accounts categorized the $1,123,334.27 in personal expenses by category as follows:
Travel – $657,831.46
Retail – $150,078.95
Tuition/School – $90,915.97
Utilities – $39,913.97
Meals – $31,306.65
Vehicle – $27,036.76
Grocery – $23,596.69
Home Improvement -$18,990.65
Health – $16,487.08
Entertainment – $15,002.97
Subscriptions – $13,689.98
Fuel – $12,814.45
Personal Services – $5,164.81
Mailing – $4,806.47
Gift Cards – $3,735.00
Conferences – $1,980.81
Taxes – $1,969.23
Alcohol – $1,816.34
Dry Cleaning – $1,401.23
Cannabis – $1,124.56
Pet – $1,119.89
Cosmetic – $1,079.72
Fees/Interest – $960.73
Phone – $509.90
The following schedule breaks down travel expenses of $657,831.46 by type:
Hotel/Resort – $166,894.50
Airfare – $132,500.90
Entertainment – $97,917.87
Booking Services – $69,623.63
Meals – $47,550.78
Car Rentals – $34,811.04
Retail – $31,435.30
Transportation – $13,180.99
Fuel – $12,617.58
Travel Insurance – $11,602.62
Rentals – $8,780.34
Grocery – $6,311.20
Sports – $6,267.54
Spa – $4,342.40
Subscriptions – $3,267.05
Parking – $3,237.00
Fees – $2,834.88
Alcohol – $1,319.04
Tolls – $1,201.16
Services – $1,144.10
Coffee – $496.62
Misc. – $457.29
Tobacco – $37.63
The audit also documented $150,078.95 in personal expenditures paid with the township credit card that were attributed to retail purchases.
By type:
E-Commerce – $62,798.68
Misc. Online – $33,387.12
Clothing – $18,547.46
Sports – $10,718.75
Local – $7,732.59
Dress Clothes – $5,772.93
Music – $2,698.62
Photo – $2,169.28
Sunglasses – $1,750.48
Sleep Patches – $1,094.28
Bedding – $1,020.82
Coffee – $1,019.23
Luggage – $712.94
Furniture – $655.77
The SBOA attributed $8,198.33 in expenditures to a backyard deck and landscaping from April 2020 to June 2020.
This story will be updated.
