Marion County Fair is being sued by the state of Indiana, alleging misuse of funds for home improvement. Photo by Jenna Auber, Indy Encyclopedia.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Attorney General filed a lawsuit of more than 12,000 dollars against Cindy Mowerly, leader of the board of directors of the Marion County Agricultural Fair Association and a prominent actor in local republican politics.

The lawsuit has its roots in findings from a March 2024 State Board of Accounts investigation showing Mowery used taxpayers’ money for home improvement.

Todd Rokita’s office filed a lawsuit against Mowery in the Marion County Superior Court on Friday, March 7. It is alleged she used public funds unfairly or negligently, using money from the Marion County Fair board to pay painters for the work done in her home.

The amount requested in the lawsuit includes $4,500 used to pay the painters and $7,648 for paying for the SBOA investigation.

The SBOA found a check of $7,500 dated Nov. 13, 2021 was given to a painter who worked at the Marion County Fairgrounds. The investigators said $3,000 was used to paint a fairground lodge, with the remaining $4,500 used for work done at Mowery’s home, including painting siding and removing mold and dirt, and staining her deck.

Mowery’s lawyers have asked for more time to respond to the allegations.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office also filed a forgery case against Jeremy Tevebaugh, the fair’s former executive director, for writing the check. The state investigation was spurred by Tevebaugh’s complaints.

In the summer of 2022, the board of directors sued Tevebaugh for not evacuating his fair property after his dismissal. In a counterclaim, Tevebaugh accused Mowery of sexual harassment, but she denied the crime. The lawsuit and the counterclaim were subsequently dismissed.

Indianapolis city and county councilor Paul Annee has been the executive director of the fair since Tevebaugh’s 2022 departure.

Marion County Fair is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that receives about $100,000 in annual grants from the city. In the fall of 2021, Mowery appeared before the council committee to ask for an additional $50,000 for improvement of the fair, an amount she received.

According the state investigation, a month after the additional funding proposal, the $7,500 payment was removed from Marion County’s Fairboard account.

The Attorney General’s Office is also trying to recover funds through the insurance company of the Marion County Fair Commission. Court documents report that the board is insured by the Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America by up to $1 million per year, to cover losses due to wrongful behavior.

Mowery has been involved in Republican politics in Marion County for some time. She is currently a Republican leader on the Marion County Board of Voter Registration. She was previously the county party treasurer, but when the party was reorganized in March, she did not try to keep her seat. The president of the Marion County Republican Party is the party that appoints her position on the Board of Voter Registration.

In addition to the funds used to paint Mowery’s house, the SBOA investigation also found flaws in internal controls, inadequate management of financial records, and lack of supervision by the Marion County Agricultural Fair Association.