A former Clay Middle School employee is facing a civil lawsuit filed by Indiana Attorney Todd Rokita that aims to recover funds reported missing from Clay Middle School.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 8 in Hamilton County, accuses Aletta Nowlin of causing the school to suffer a pecuniary loss of $205,002 between 2016 and 2021 through unauthorized credit card purchases, unaccounted funds, late fees and other costs. It repeatedly cites a State Board of Accounts investigation initiated after Carmel Clay Schools reported the missing funds in 2021.
Nowlin worked as an administrative assistant at Clay Middle School from July 2012 until her termination in 2021. She also served as the building treasurer.
Current has made multiple attempts to contact Nowlin but has not received a response.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the case to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
“We have not decided our course of action. There are different burdens of proof for the different settings. Criminal charges carry the highest burden of proof – proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Joshua Kocher, chief deputy prosecuting attorney for the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office.
A spokesperson for CCS said the district has not been involved in the situation since the conclusion of the SBOA report, which was filed in June 2022. CCS provided the Indiana State Police with results of the audit.
According to the audit report, which was posted on the SBOA website in March 2022, SBOA found that between 2017 and 2020 there were 93 instances involving Clay Middle School where athletic events occurred and corresponding gate collections were not receipted or deposited. It discovered nearly 50 concessions proceeds that also were not receipted or deposited. During the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the gate collections or concessions at 21 athletic events were receipted or deposited. The audit concluded $73,558 was not accounted for.
The report also states that more than $58,000 was not deposited in relation to non-athletic extracurricular activities during the investigation period. An additional $18,976 was collected but not accounted for tied to field trips and fundraisers.
Nowlin is accused of using a school credit card to spend nearly $54,000 on unauthorized purchases that included gift cards, gasoline, groceries, clothes, household items, jewelry and more.
