Former Indiana Parks Director Agrees to Plea Deal for Misusing City Funds on Sports Cards

Mark Green, a former parks director in Columbia City, Indiana, has agreed to a plea deal that may result in a one-year jail sentence and a repayment of $275,000 for using a city credit card to purchase sports cards. The deal is pending judge approval.

Mark Green, who served as the parks director of Columbia City, Indiana for 20 years, is facing a year in jail and a restitution of $275,000 if a judge approves his plea agreement. The charges stem from his misuse of a city credit card over a five-year period to fund his sports card hobby.

The case began to unfold when the Columbia City Clerk-Treasurer’s Office noticed suspicious expenditures, prompting an investigation by the Indiana State Police. The investigation revealed that Green had used approximately $250,000 of city funds on purchases made at Sports Spot, a local hobby shop in Fort Wayne, as well as at Walmart stores and another retailer in Iowa. Court documents disclosed that Green manipulated invoices to appear as if the purchases were for recreational equipment, before selling the sports cards on eBay.

An investigative report by the Indiana State Board of Accounts identified the initial unauthorized purchase dating back to October 18, 2018, with the most recent transaction occurring on March 14, 2023, just a day before Green confessed to the Indiana State Police. The report also noted that Green had borrowed credit cards from other city employees when he reached his own card's limit to continue acquiring sports cards and memorabilia.

Following the investigation, Green was terminated from his position as parks director in March of the previous year and also resigned from his role as an assistant basketball coach at Huntington University.

The plea deal, as reported by WANE-TV, proposes that four of the five charges against Green be dismissed, leaving him with a single charge of felony theft. Under the terms of the agreement, Green would serve one year in jail and is expected to pay restitution amounting to over $175,000 to the city and an additional $100,000 to an insurance company. The final decision rests with the court to approve this plea arrangement.