DUBOIS CO. – An investigation by the State Board of Accounts found that Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter misused jail commissary funds multiple times, beginning in 2019.
According to state law, the sheriff controls and manages jail commissary funds, but they do require certain approvals from the county commissioners.
A special audit was filed in late July to review Sheriff Kleinhelter’s spending habits.
The State Board of Accounts report shows he was using jail commissary funds in ways not approved by the Dubois County Council.
The State Board of Accounts found that almost $9,000 was used towards travel costs for his wife, who was not an employee of the sheriff’s department, for travel to law enforcement conferences in Florida, Arizona, and Dubai.
Those purchases included travel expenses and conference registration for his wife to four conferences between 2021 and 2023. Those travel expenses totaled $8,852.95 for trips to Florida, Arizona and Dubai
Dubai was the most expensive trip at $7,375.92 on May 16, 2023, for the World Police Summit. According to the event website, it is an annual event hosting law enforcement agencies from 138 countries to gather insights from experts from the FBI, NYPD, LAPD, Metropolitan Police, Australian Police, Canadian Mountain Police, German Police, and many more.
According to the report, the sheriff also paid $887.40 for airfare to Panama City, Florida, for a law enforcement training event on May 2, 2023; registration for the National Sheriff’s Association Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. for $244.40 on Feb. 26, 2021; and airfare to Sandestin, Fla., for a law enforcement training conference for $347.50 on Oct. 4, 2023.
The State Board of Accounts also found that on November 1, 2023, the sheriff purchased four $100 Visa prepaid gift cards and 50 Blackstone 22-inch flat-top grills for $7,921.76. The items were given to the Sheriff’s Office employees as gifts.
Kleinhelter reimbursed all the Jail Commissary funds with a personal check for $16,774.71 on June 27, 2024.
Sheriff Kleinhelter released a statement saying he “fully cooperated with the audit and mistakenly misinterpreted certain expenditures. He has since paid the money back and is now in full compliance with the law.”
The State Board of Accounts reported deficiencies in internal controls that contributed to the wrongful disbursements of the commissary fund.
They found that Sheriff Kleinhelter regularly provided his ledger records to the council as the law prescribed. Still, the council did not request additional information or documentation from the sheriff regarding those expenditures. According to the sheriff and the council, the expenses were listed in the ledgers, though Council President Mike Kluesner said some details were lacking in the entries.
Dubois County Attorney Greg Schnarr sent a letter to the State Board of Accounts, which was included in the report. The letter states that the council made several verbal requests to the sheriff to increase transparency and provide detailed insights into the ledgers in 2023.
Schnarr further wrote that the council’s establishment of the committee “underscores the county’s commitment to ensuring this fund is managed transparently and per Indiana law.”
According to the letter, the sheriff’s office has complied with the council and the committee’s requests since it established the committee.
The State Board of Accounts findings were forwarded to the Dubois County Prosecuting Attorney’s and Attorney General’s offices, but no further action was noted. The prosecuting attorney’s office would not comment on the matter as it was under review.
