State investigation finds Columbus trustee used township credit card for $1.12 million in personal spending

Columbus township trustee Ben Jackson used approximately $1.12 million in public dollars to pay for vacations, his children’s school tuition, and personal expenses such as landscaping and cannabis.

That’s according to an Indiana State Board of Accounts investigation released this month. The audit looked at trustee spending between 2016 and 2024.

Jackson, a Republican, became township trustee in 2013. The report shows the office’s annual spending spiked in the years following.
 

The state got involved after an anonymous tip that Jackson used the trustee credit card to buy first class plane tickets for himself and his wife, Amy Jackson. The State Board visited the township two weeks later and asked for the office’s credit card statements.

Jackson replied that no personal expenses had been charged, according to the report. But a trustee credit card statement showed he bought first class plane tickets for himself and his wife to Switzerland. Jackson declined to say more about this without an attorney present.

The State opened an investigation into credit card expenditures for the office spanning Dec. 14, 2016 to Nov. 22, 2024. Jackson resigned from his trustee seat in November.

The state found nearly all the spending on Jackson’s trustee card was personal: $1.12 million of the $1.28 million he charged to the account during that time.

The trustee office’s credit charges during this time totaled $1.3 million, including Jackson’s spending.

Township trustee funds are primarily sourced from property taxes. Trustee duties include administering township assistance, tracking and reporting finances for the office, and providing fire protection. Jackson’s salary in 2024 was $68,000.

Jackson used his trustee card to cover more than $600,000 for over 60 personal trips, including to Disney World, California, New York, Europe, and Australia.

The State Board found Jackson charged more than $150,000 to his trustee card for retail, including for ski gear and backyard landscaping.

He used the card to pay $90,000 in tuition and school expenses for his three children at DePaul University, DePauw University, Indiana University Bloomington, and Bard College of Longy School of Music.

The State Board interviewed Columbus Township clerk Allen Smith on Nov. 25, 2024. Smith said he made the payments to the credit card company from 2013 until mid-2018. But around October 2018, Jackson started preparing checks for the credit card company. After this, the report found every check to the credit card company had been created by Jackson. Smith told the State Board he didn’t question this, because Jackson was his boss.

The audit report said, “There was no longer an independent employee reviewing the purchases made by Jackson. This allowed Jackson to make personal purchases on the credit card without being detected.”

Before that, Jackson provided supporting receipts to Smith for purchases he made with the trustee credit card. When there was not a receipt to support a purchase, Smith had previously made a note. Though Jackson made personal purchases on the card in 2017 and 2018, he wrote personal checks to the credit card company to pay for purchases that didn’t have a receipt.

About 90 percent, $1.16 million of what Jackson charged to the card, was unsupported.

The Indiana State Police interviewed Jackson with the State Board present on Dec. 2, 2024. He told them no one had known he was using the trustee credit card for personal use and that he was the only township employee that used their credit card for personal reasons.

During the investigation, the State Board identified questionable expenses charged to the trustee card by the East Columbus Fire Department, Inc. The report recommends the township request repayment of $14,775.

Jackson must repay the township more than $1.3 million for unauthorized use of the township credit card and personal use of the township’s Sam’s Club card. This includes the state’s special investigation costs of $145,929. He and his children are also being asked to pay back $77,998 in tuition funds, included in the total.

No charges have been filed against Jackson yet. The Indiana State Police’s investigation is ongoing.