A lengthy investigation by the Indiana State Police Special Investigations Section has led to a former trustee of Ripley Township, located in Rush County, being arrested on a multiple count felony warrant. The investigation and charges allege that former township trustee Tara Hancock, 36, misused and misappropriated public funds for the personal gain of herself and her husband. 

The investigation was started last fall after a State Board of Accounts audit for Ripley Township from 2015 to 2018 found discrepancies in records totaling over $17,000, according to State Board of Accounts officials. The Indiana State Police Special Investigations Section was contacted and an investigation was conducted. When that investigation was completed it was turned over to the Rush County Prosecutor’s Office for their review.

As a result of the joint investigation and prosecutor’s review, Hancock was arrested at her home in Hancock County Friday morning on a warrant for four counts of Level 6 Felony Theft, one count of Level 6 Felony Official Misconduct by a Public Servant and one count of Level 6 Felony Ghost Employment. Hancock was lodged in the Rush County Jail.