HANCOCK COUNTY — A New Palestine woman committed fraud and robbed her Greenfield employer of over $550,000 in pay along with taking money through other means over the past decade, officials say.
Jennifer L. Horton, 47, whose last known address was 6947 West 100S, New Palestine, has been charged with a C felony count of theft of at least $100,000 and a D felony count of fraud from incidents that began in 2014 and lasted through 2022.
The most serious crime carries up to eight years in prison. However, prosecutor Brent Eaton noted further charges could be filed against Horton and possibly others who were part of the theft and fraud.
The case against Horton was opened in Hancock County Circuit Court last week, March 15 when a probable cause affidavit was filed by the prosecutor’s office and Judge Scott Sirk issued a warrant for Horton’s arrest. However, officials with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, noted in their report that Horton and her husband Jon Horton sold their home in New Palestine and have since moved to Kentucky.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials began looking into the case in February. That’s when the owner of a Greenfield contracting business told officials he had just figured out that his bookkeeper, Jennifer Horton, had stolen several thousands of dollars from his business.
In addition to overpaying herself thousands each year since 2014, Horton also used a company credit card for personal expenses not approved by the business owner, the affidavit said. The business owner told officials that Horton also put her husband on the company payroll to make $55,000 a year for the last two years. The business owner told officials Jon Horton owned a lawn care business and he hired him to take care of the lawn at the business, but that Jon Horton was never an employee.
The affidavit states that at the first of the new year the business owner became suspicious when he asked Jennifer Horton for the passcode for the company American Express account, and she was very hesitant with the information. He then told officials that Jennifer Horton went on vacation and still had not provided the code, so he contacted American Express and saw a balance of $65,841.
The business owner noted in the affidavit that he saw cable bills on his statement and called the cable company and found not only did he have cable set up at his office, but also at Jennifer Horton’s house, which was not authorized. That’s when the business owner also found out an ex-employee’s American Express Card had been turned in to Jennifer Horton, but she had kept it active and gave it to her husband, the affidavit said.
The business owner told officials, the affidavit states, that when he asked Jennifer Horton questions about the payroll, she deleted all the information surrounding payroll, including the app the company used. He added that Jennifer Horton then emptied files and records kept in the office as well as deleted a file on his laptop that contained employees’ start dates and other records.
The affidavit states that the business owner said he “never in a million years would he have suspected her of doing something like this” because he thought she was his friend after hiring her in 2013.
A further look into Jennifer and Jon Horton’s W2 tax documents since 2014 surrounding the payroll indicated Jennifer Horton overpaid herself hundreds of thousands of dollars, far more than she was scheduled to make, the affidavit said.
In 2014, when her salary was agreed to $525 a week or $27,300 a year, the affidavit said Jennifer Horton made $52,300 on her W2, indicating she overpaid herself $25,000. In 2015 she was paid $57,250, overpaid $29,950; in 2016 she was paid $52,225, overpaid $24,925; in 2017 she was paid $56,500, overpaid $29,200; in 2018 she was paid $85,088; overpaid $57,788; in 2019, she was paid $113,620, overpaid $86,320; in 2020 she was paid $118,688; overpaid $91,388; in 2021 she was paid $141,773 (after she had agreed to a salary change to $600 per week and should have made $31,200 a year) she was overpaid $110,573.
The affidavit also noted since Jennifer Horton was not taking raises, the owner stated he gave her $10,000 to open up a 401k plan for herself. Her 2022 salary of $139,458 (agreed salaried change to $743 week for $38,636 per year) was overpaid $100,822 for a grand total of $555,968 in over paid salary.
When the business owner looked at another American Express report, he noticed past charges of $10,384 in 2021 and $10,485 in 2022 on a card used by a former employee who he was certain had turned the card in to Jennifer Horton. The business owner told officials that the card should have been terminated but had charges that were odd for fuel at gas stations they do not use, such as the Get and Go in New Palestine and Leos in Greenfield, the affidavit said.
Videos indicated the vehicle used for those purchases matched a dark Ford pulling a dark-colored trailer matching the Horton’s vehicle.
Major Robert Campbell of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department said, once a warrant is issued, if they’re able to find the suspect, even in another state, they’ll follow protocol to get the person transferred to the county to face charges as soon as possible. He could not say by print time if Jennifer Horton had been found yet. Once arrested, court records show Sirk has ordered Jennifer Horton to be held without bond pending her arraignment.
