Another former southern Indiana sheriff was arrested Thursday on charges related to the Jamey Noel investigation.
On Thursday morning, authorities arrested former Scott County Sheriff Kenneth Hughbanks and charged him with tax evasion. He spent less than 45 minutes in the jail where he had run for 8 months in 2018. He is currently released on $5,000 cash bail.
Hughbanks was a close ally of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for embezzling millions of dollars from the department and a nonprofit EMS service.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Indiana State Police Lt. Jeffrey Hearon determined that Hughbanks and his wife, Lyndi Hughbanks, stole $145,693 from Kenneth’s godmother, who was suffering from dementia. Lyndi notarized a paper in May 2019 that granted her husband power of attorney over the woman’s bank accounts.
Hearon stated that Kenneth and Lyndi utilized funds from the bank accounts “for their purposes” between 2019 and 2021. Kenneth did not record this revenue on his tax returns.
Furthermore, Hearon stated that Kenneth sold various tools, bikes, and other products from a building on Main Street in Scottsburg during the same time without collecting or remitting sales tax. The overall cost was estimated at $30,000–$40,000.
The third and final criminal accusation stemmed from neglecting to deliver business records to Indiana revenue agents.
Court filings from 2024 revealed that Noel paid Hughbanks more than $262,000 for consultancy work between March 2015 and October 2022, using Clark County Sheriff’s Office jail commissary monies. Documents show that investigators suspect Hughbanks and his wife failed to declare at least $214,700 in income on their taxes during a five-year period. Commissary records from 2018 are missing, according to state police in court documents.
Lyndi hasn’t been charged. Kenneth’s bond amount was set at $5,000.
His first court appearance is planned for Tuesday, 1:30 p.m., in Scott County Circuit Court.
Hearon, the Noel case’s principal investigator, swore to these conclusions in a probable cause affidavit.
Kenneth was named Scott County Sheriff in April 2018 after his predecessor left the department for another job. According to a search request, Lt. Hearon acquired information that Kenneth is not a graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, and a senior officer in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office claimed Kenneth likely got the job because of his relationship with Noel.
Scott County Circuit Court officials confirmed that Ric Hertel would prosecute the case. Hertel has been designated special prosecutor in all matters involving the Noel probe.
