The Indiana State Ethics Commission approved a settlement agreement for former Secretary of Public Safety Jennifer-Ruth Green, who will pay a $10,000 fine to resolve an ethics violations complaint.
The commission approved the settlement on Thursday morning, which means that Green will have to pay the fine within the next 60 days.
Under the agreement, the commission will not impose further penalties and both sides “shall result in the final disposition of this proceeding.” Green waived her statutory right to a public hearing to contest the complaint, according to the agreement.
In October, Green announced her candidacy in the Republican primary to face U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, in Indiana’s first Congressional District in 2026. Green ran against Mrvan in 2022 and lost.
The Committee to Elect Jennifer-Ruth Green issued a statement Thursday calling the settlement “a major legal victory” for Green.
“(The) Office of Inspector General attempted to throw the kitchen sink at her based on politically motivated sham of an investigation, including nine charges alleging everything from criminal conduct to inappropriate behavior, along with a laundry list of petty accusations,” according to the statement.
Green took responsibility for “minor violations that occurred” including the Facebook page usage and using a state vehicle, according to the statement. But, there was no social media policy and the car use was “explicitly approved by her government attorney,” according to the statement.
“Jennifer-Ruth accepted this settlement and responsibility for minor violations because she has integrity, and she recognized that justice and fairness were unlikely in an environment where pursuing full vindication would require a prolonged legal battle costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, against vindictive actors wielding unlimited taxpayer-funded resources to attack her reputation, character and career,” according to the statement.
Green, who resigned Sept. 5, faced code of ethics violations for political activity, ghost employment, misuse of state property, and prohibition against retaliation.
Green, who was appointed to the role in January, allegedly violated the political activity and ghost employment rules for asking employees to generate content and proofread posts on her “Elect Jennifer-Ruth Green” Facebook page, according to the complaint.
When Green had a meeting with a National Republican Congressional Committee political director during work hours in a conference room in a state-owned building, the complaint alleged those were violations of the ghost employment and misuse of state property rules.
Green also violated the ghost employment rule when she asked employees to perform personal tasks for her on state time on multiple occasions, including retrieving her assigned state vehicle from Crown Point, the complaint stated.
Further, Green violated the misuse of state property rule when she included her state title on her Battle-Proven Leadership website, where she promotes training seminars and her book, and when she used and required an employee to use her state vehicle for her personal use, according to the complaint.
After learning that an employee reported her to the OIC, Green violated the prohibition against retaliation when she threatened the employee with demotion or termination and “made derogatory comments” toward the employee, according to the complaint.
