Jamey and Misty Noel were each charged last week with 10 felonies for theft and tax evasion. Those charges come months after Jamey Noel’s initial 15 charges, which include corrupt business influence and ghost employment.
Indiana State Police reported Misty Noel turned herself in last Thursday and was transported to Scott County, where she was held without bond over the weekend awaiting the initial hearing.
Jamey Noel has been out on bond since November.
Court records related to the new charges include accusations that Jamey and Misty Noel failed to report more than $3.4 million on their joint tax returns over several years — including income from property and vehicle sales.
They’re also accused of making purchases for personal items and services on American Express accounts linked to the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, also known as New Chapel EMS.
In court Monday, Special Judge Larry Medlock read each of the 10 counts.
A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of both Jamey and Misty Noel. Misty Noel’s attorney, Bart McMahon, requested that she either be released on her own recognizance or be given a $5,000 bond.
Special prosecutor Ric Hertel asked the judge to impose a bond “at or near” Jamey’s Noel’s bond, or possibly slightly lower.
Medlock ultimately set bond at $30,000 cash, less than half the $75,000 he gave Jamey Noel in November. She is also required to turn over her passport, and can travel alone to Louisville to meet with her attorney.
Online court records following the hearing show Misty’s bond had been paid.
Medlock said Monday that he might have considered Jamey Noel’s bond differently if he knew about the additional allegations against him.
“If I was aware that Mr. Noel had allegedly taken millions and millions of dollars from the firefighters association, my bond would probably have been substantially higher than what I set,” he said.
Jamey Noel was released on bond following his initial court appearance on the first set of charges in November. Attorneys are appealing that, arguing in part that the $75,000 bond he was given was excessive and that the other bond conditions are unreasonable.
Hertel said following the hearing he does not at this time intend to file a motion to revoke Jamey Noel’s bond based on the new charges, but may consider it if more charges are filed, depending on what they are and when the allegations took place.
He said the investigation is “very fluid.”
“And things can change by the day or the week as a state receives additional information from search warrants, reports done by the State Board of Accounts, reports done by the Indiana Department of Revenue,” Hertel said.
Misty Noel has a pretrial conference set for April 9, with a jury trial scheduled for July 30. Jamey Noel’s trial is scheduled for May 6, but Hertel said the cases may be consolidated for trial.
Medlock previously granted Jamey Noel permission to travel to California this month. His wife had planned to go with him as did his lawyer, Larry Wilder, and Wilder’s wife.
In court Monday, Medlock recommended they cancel that trip.
Wilder said they already had.
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