Police Probe Hamilton County Treasurer's Office Allegations

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — State police are investigating an allegation that clerks in the treasurer's office of a central Indiana county accepted past-due property payments from family members and county workers without charging late fees.

The allegation was made by former employee Susan Byer in a wrongful termination suit filed last month. Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger tells The Indianapolis Star that commissioners requested the state police investigation "for the sake of transparency," not because they thought there was wrongdoing.

Byer said the practice ended in mid-2017, when officials in the office told staff it could be considered a felony.

Byer says she was fired about eight months later amid fears she would tell county oversight officials what she knew. Dillenger says there was no basis for the lawsuit during a preliminary inquiry.