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Gov. Mike Braun confirmed Tuesday he is arranging for an independent audit of Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s spending and accounts, just weeks after he ordered more transparency for the agency’s nonprofit foundation.
The Governor’s Office told IBJ it is hiring an outside firm for the audit on the same day that Hannah News Service, which produces Indiana Legislative Insight newsletter, published a sprawling account that raised questions about the IEDC’s relationship with Elevate Ventures, a nonprofit that serves as a venture capital firm for the state agency. The IEDC gives Elevate millions of dollars each year to invest in Indiana-related startups.
IBJ has not independently verified the allegations in Hannah’s report.
In a written statement to IBJ, the Governor’s Office confirmed that it is in the process of finalizing an “independent forensic audit of all Indiana Economic Development Corporation accounting.”
“Hoosier taxpayers deserve clear accountability for how their dollars are spent,” Braun said in the statement Tuesday. “We will take any necessary action to protect taxpayers going forward.”
In a written statement shared with IBJ, Elevate Ventures CEO Christopher Day said public service is at the core of Elevate’s mission. His statement did not address the questions raised in Hannah’s report.
“We have been, and will continue to be, transparent with the IEDC and the Governor’s office in both the work we do and our stewardship of resources,” Day said. “We strongly support the Governor’s focus on accountability and transparency on behalf of Hoosier taxpayers.”
An IEDC spokesperson deferred to the Governor’s Office when reached for comment.
Molly Swigart, spokesperson for Senate Pro Tem Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, told IBJ in a written statement that the senator is “very concerned” about the questions raised in the Hannah News Service report and grateful for the steps Braun has taken to address the issues.
“It is likely there is much more to be learned about what transpired between Elevate Ventures and the IEDC,” Swigart said, “but lawmakers are taking this initial information into consideration as they continue their discussions.”
Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that those involved in economic development should be the biggest advocates of reform and transparency.
Deery’s district would be impacted by a proposed long-haul water pipeline to the IEDC’s LEAP Research and Innovation District in Boone County. He has been a staunch supporter of more guardrails for the agency, authoring this year’s Senate Bill 251, which would’ve added a slew of new transparency measures, including adding an economic development ombudsman who would be tasked with, among other things, investigating mismanagement and misconduct within IEDC and any nonprofit subsidiaries.
That bill died without a hearing.
“A new administration may have bought us time in preventing the proliferation of more problems like this, but the problems will return if the General Assembly fails to codify new expectations for the transparency and accountability of IEDC dollars,” Deery wrote.
Earlier this month, the Governor’s Office singled out the Indiana Economic Development Foundation while announcing an executive order focused on improving the transparency of state-affiliated nonprofits.
The executive order requires all state-affiliated nonprofit foundations and corporations to comply with mandated reporting requirements and catch up on all missed reports within the last 10 years, even if they were granted an exemption.
Hannah News Service’s reports that the move came after Braun, who took office in January, and high-level staffers had difficulty piecing together IEDC’s accounting, proper documentation and a timeline of the agency’s financial moves.
The Hannah report also says the Governor’s Office is freezing key bank accounts and arranging to hire more investigators within the Office of the Inspector General as it continues reviewing IEDC activities.
Hannah News Service is an Ohio-based organization that has an Indiana office with three journalists. It also covers state government in Ohio, Illinois and South Carolina.
This story may be updated.
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The IEDC needed to be investigated. One win for Braun after the property tax mess
I have no problem with an audit of the IEDC or any other governmental entity or subdivision for that matter. That said, I do find it a bit perplexing that the one government entity which has brought tremendous results for the State has become its favorite scapegoat.
Thanks for the chuckle – you had me at “tremendous results.”
Hilarious
Audit away. I want to know why tax dollars and lottery money is not being spent on fixing roads and schools????!!!!!! My Property taxes went up $1000 . I cannot understand why this keeps happening and no accountability.
Indiana has lied to itself for decades. We’ve told ourselves that there are all kinds of quick fixes to our budgetary woes. We can just slash taxes to draw in new business, or cheapen our way to growth, gut essential services, all the while the population grows and the cost to provide public services increases. And we still pay our civil servants like crap. We continuously provide ever-larger corporate subsidies and property tax abatements for massive, multi-billion dollar corporations and we don’t build enough housing. All of this causes massive shortages in local and State budgets. The lottery being able to cover budgets was a nice thought in the 1970s and 80s, but was never realistic.
If we want property taxes to **actually** be decreased for the common, middle-class homeowner, then we need to end the massive handouts for already-profitable megacorporations and glut the housing market (in an infill fashion; minimize new infrastructure overhead). The most recent “property tax relief” effort has been a joke. The only beneficiaries are big businesses who own massive amounts of land. The “up to $300 credit” for homestead properties is a slap in the face to Hoosiers. Under SB1, I would only get a credit of $50, but large land owners and big businesses save millions in property tax reductions, new deductions, and a crazy high threshold for personal property tax. Meanwhile, my public services and infrastructure will further deteriorate.
We’re being pissed on and told that it’s raining.
As long as we are discussing road dollars, let’s examine how much we have received from the federal government, compared to our neighbors, and let’s ask our crack congressional delegation what they did, vis a’ vis road dollars, to benefit Indiana. 65 is sure pretty in Kentucky but in Indiana, not so much.
I wonder how deep Andre C’s fingers are in this??? Among other things…he’s a crook.
Can you please explain how a Democratic U.S. representative might be mixed up in any alleged issues involving the state government that has long been in Republican hands? I’m thinking the IBJ content monitor might want to consider curtailing statements such as “among other things, he is a crook” aimed without any evidence or details at someone not even mentioned in this article.
…Carson, a Congressional House representative for Marion County, one of only two Democrat House Reps in the whole State, is dictating State matters and telling the 20-year-long Republican supermajority what to do? Carson is to blame for the 20 years of unaccountability and reckless tax cuts for the biggest businesses? Sure, Jan.
Republicans have been in charge of Indiana for 20 years with no real competition due to gerrymandering. Democats have no say in State-level policy. Any problems that are faced at the State level are entirely the makings of Republicans. When are Conservatives going to own their failures?
Unless you joined this forum yesterday, it’s well known that I despise Carson, but this comment is hilariously off target
That said, special shout out to Steve who thinks any slightly unfavorable comment about Saint Andre should be removed
https://x.com/inhsedems/status/1914783440471286135
If anyone bothers to investigate for real, go to the IEDC Transparency bla bla, browse for 9-12 LLC and its DBAs – available at the Indiana Business Registry -, and explain to me why Vision Fleet is still alive and kicking.
2019 Central Indiana Corporate Partnership bla bla, can someone explain why they invested over $100M in the Caribean?
The IEDC Pirates.
What is the time line for the audit to be complete? Will it be shared in full with the public?
What?!? The same organization that said “no, if we pull 1 kjillion gallons of water daily from a mid sized river won’t have any adverse affects at all, why do you ask?” might have some financial improprieties?
Surely there is some mistake !!
Chuck the water is for Hydrogen.
And the Hydrogen has been awarded with zero bids to Andretti Petroleum, check the ESN grants.
The water pipeline goes along a connected corridor from Purdue West Lafayette to Purdue Downtown.
I think you are missing my sarcasm
http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/events/purdue-innovates-technology-expo/article_51f86f44-1140-4acd-b423-c808aa71733a.html
Purdue Research Foundation
9-12 LLC
Battery Innovation Center
Discovery Park
Energy Systems Network
Indy Innovation LLC
Eclipse
Enerdel
Indy Sports Tech
Trusted PPE
Project Energy Reimagined Adquisition Company, in Cayman Islands.
It is all the same 3 people: Pittman, Mitchell and Roberts.
This has happened before, check the Vision Fleet scandal.
Project Energy Reimagined Acquisition Company is a $25M fund with a $75M PIPE is ran by Duke’s fired Chairman and IEDC main constructor Michael Bowling, and the COO is IEDC “Innovator Orchestrator” and Enerdel former president, David Roberts.
The sponsor is called Smilodon and it is located at an abandoned Foundry registered by IEDC as a LEAP property at 300 N Philadelphia St, La Porte, IN.
This group buys Wejo, the illegal GM data trader and paid GM 70% back.
This group funds Andretti F1.
How do I know? Because in 2023 an employee of Andretti UK called Mark Haskins, called me at my home in Indy to net me know that “If I wanted to have business in Indiana, I needed to sponsor Andretti in UK”. He added that “since the State of Indiana cannot sponsor an F1 team, the IEDC Battery Innovation Center came up with an innovative idea to pay for Andretti F1 via Formula E by monetizing sustainability grants, because THOSE ARE UNLIMITED IN INDIANA.”
IEDC fund Project Energy Reimagined is accused to steal $50M from Chinese bank HSBC:
https://www.cstonepharma.com/en/uploads/2022/05/165400721280551.pdf
Indy Innovation Challenge is a no-bid $100M fund, collocated with the Midwest Hydrogen Coalition at 1250 Indianapolis Ave:
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_fl/N24000005645
IEDC David Roberts gifts the company to IEDC Paul Mitchell, and both own the Battery Innovation bla bla bla
https://x.com/SenFadyQaddoura/status/1914753020555891050
21 Fund Growth LLC, represented by TAFT: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_in/202501081853012
TAFT is paid by IEDC to represent them, including LEAP:
https://secure.in.gov/apps/iedc/transparencyportal/viewtaxgrantloancontract/ba680b88d4e2ed11a7c6001dd806af48
https://secure.in.gov/apps/iedc/transparencyportal/viewtaxgrantloancontract/c9b23a1b50b8ed1183fe001dd806ae75