November 6, 2014

U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Alan Mizen to Plead Guilty in Center Township Public Corruption Case

INDIANAPOLIS—Acting United States Attorney, Josh J. Minkler announced today that Alan Mizen, 59, the former Chief Financial Officer for Center Township, Marion County, IN. will plead guilty to federal public corruption charges. The information charging theft from programs receiving federal funds and Mizen’s plea agreement were filed today.

“The public deserves to have public officials whom they can trust to do the right thing,” said Minkler. “When that trust is betrayed, be assured, the United States Attorney’s Office will hold them accountable. The agreement and charges filed today accomplish that goal.”

According to court documents, on June 10, 2010, Mizen signed on to the computer system for Center Township and created an invoice for a check in the amount of $343,541.08 which was purportedly payable to the Treasurer of the State of Indiana. On June 16, 2010 he wrote a check for the same amount from the Center Township’s bank account to “Attorney’s General Clearing Tr.” Mizen signed the check and deposited it into a new account he had created at PNC Bank.

Mizen then transferred the funds that he deposited into the PNC Bank account to various personal accounts that he maintained. From the personal accounts, Mizen used over $200,000 to help purchase a residence in Zionsville, purchase a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, fund his child’s college education, finance personal vacations, purchase a diamond necklace and diamond ring for $8,900 during a trip to the Cayman Islands, and make other consumer purchases. Mizen’s used taxpayer funds to finance these personal expenditures from June 10, 2010 through July 2012.

Mizen must make pay restitution for the full amount of $343,541 to Center Township. In his signed plea agreement, Mizen agrees to use the proceeds of the previously seized assets, to pay the restitution amount.

Minkler explained this case was the result of outstanding law enforcement work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana State Board of Accounts and the Internal Revenue Service. All three agencies are partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Public Integrity Working Group, which was launched in April 2012 with the stated purpose of aggressively investigating allegations of public fraud, waste and abuse by public officials in Indiana. Anyone with information on public corruption is encouraged to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (317) 229-2443. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott said, “Citizens are owed integrity at all levels of government.”

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James C. Lee stated, “When public officials commit crimes, whether as part of their official duties or in their private lives, they are violating the public trust. IRS-Criminal Investigation helps ensure that all Americans, including public officials, are held to the same standard.”

According to Senior Litigation Counsel, Bradley A. Blackington, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Mizen could be sentenced to up to ten years in federal prison, pay a $250,000 fine and serve three years of federal supervised release. No sentencing date has been set.