A former volunteer fire chief in northern Miami County is now at the center of a criminal case after investigators say he quietly routed nearly $59,000 out of the Pipe Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department and into his own pocket. Court filings identify the man as 38-year-old Jon Allen of Peru, accused of shifting department money into personal accounts, then using it on credit-card bills and travel. Prosecutors say the alleged scheme ran for several months and is detailed in a case now filed in Miami County court.
According to court documents and local reporting, Allen is charged with felony theft and corrupt business influence. Investigators say subpoenas and bank records show roughly $58,933 moved out of Pipe Creek fire bank accounts, tax returns and store reimbursements between July 2023 and March 2024. Prosecutors allege the money went to personal credit-card payments and trips that included plane tickets, restaurants, hotels, Airbnb rentals, racetracks and casinos, as reported by FOX59.
Chief Role and Local Ties
Allen had been listed as the department’s chief on the unit’s nonprofit filings, and ProPublica records show a “Jon Allen” among the organization’s officers. A Beacon Credit Union press release about a February 2024 grant quoted Allen discussing the department’s equipment needs, and Miami County commissioners minutes reflect that he raised EMS coverage concerns in September 2023. The volunteer department’s internal financial and reimbursement records have not been released publicly.
The Pipe Creek Township Fire Department told FOX59 it was preparing a statement on the case. Reporting also indicates Allen went on medical leave in May 2024 and was terminated in July 2024. As of June 30, 2026, online court listings showed he had not been arrested or booked, according to published records.
Investigators’ Findings and Court Filing
The charges against Allen were filed in Miami Superior Court 2 and appear in the public docket. Those case entries can be viewed through the Indiana Courts MyCase portal, which hosts trial-court records statewide and will list filed charges along with any upcoming hearings.
What the Charges Mean
Felony theft and corrupt-business-influence counts carry serious potential penalties under Indiana law, although the exact stakes will hinge on how the court and sentencing rules classify the offenses. Allen is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty, and the case is expected to proceed through arraignment and pretrial hearings before any trial is set.
Statewide Context
Similar allegations involving local officials have surfaced across Indiana in recent years. The Indiana State Board of Accounts’ archived newsroom outlines past audits and prosecutions, including a 2015 Speedway fire-department case involving a roughly comparable amount of missing funds. Those examples highlight the continued scrutiny state auditors and prosecutors apply to small-government and nonprofit finances.
Miami County prosecutors and the Pipe Creek Township Fire Department did not immediately offer detailed public statements beyond what has already been reported. Court calendars are expected to show the next steps in the case, and this story will be updated as new filings and formal statements are released.
