Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit alleging that the nonprofit Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit Inc. has shown itself unable to provide services to the community — thereby endangering the lives of Hoosiers through lengthy wait times in emergency situations. 

“Dillsboro and surrounding Dearborn County residents deserve an ambulance service provider that responds to calls in a timely manner,” Attorney General Rokita said. “The nonprofit assets held by this corporation should be put to use for their intended purpose. Their response time is unacceptable when lives are truly at stake.” 

Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit was incorporated in 1965 for the purpose of providing emergency services in and around Dillsboro. It operated in that capacity from 1965 until 2024 when it failed to obtain a contract for services in Dearborn County. 

The lawsuit alleges that Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit’s response rate has been falling since at least 2021 and has bottomed out at responding to a mere 12% of calls — forcing the local community to engage additional service providers and expend resources to cover the services that the defendant failed to provide.     

Attorney General Rokita is bringing this lawsuit under the Indiana Nonprofit Corporation Act in order to request that a receiver be appointed over Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit to wind down the corporation’s affairs and ensure the corporate assets are being used for the benefit of the citizens of Dillsboro and surrounding communities in Dearborn County. 

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship recently passed the Complete COVID Collections Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) to ensure that billions of stolen taxpayer dollars are recovered.

Young and Ernst introduced the bill after the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) warned its authority was expiring and fraudsters would get away with stealing more than $200 billion.

“Programs designed to provide relief to our small businesses were repeatedly taken advantage of, leaving small businesses hurting and taxpayers on the hook,”said Senator Young. “I’m glad to see this effort to recover taxpayer dollars and protect Americans from fraud and abuse pass out of committee. I look forward to voting for this bill on the Senate floor.”

“I will not allow fraudsters to get away with stealing hundreds of billions of dollars from taxpayers,” said Senator Ernst. “We are going to recoup every cent and end the cycle in Washington of shrugging off a few billion here and a few hundred million there. That irresponsible mindset is why the federal government is more than $36 trillion in debt. I’m proud to lead this step forward to treat tax dollars like a family treats its budget instead of like a bottomless slush fund.”

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and John Curtis (R-Utah) also co-sponsored the legislation.

• Government
• State of Indiana

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales reports that the Indiana Securities Division has joined a $17 million settlement with Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (Edward Jones) resulting from an investigation into the broker-dealer’s supervision of customers paying front-load commissions on investments which were later moved into fee-based advisory accounts, resulting in over charging. 

The Indiana Securities Division, a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), was part of a working group of 14 state securities regulators that investigated Edward Jones’s supervision of customers prompted to move assets from brokerage to advisory accounts. Under U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rules, investment advice of retirement accounts is subject to a fiduciary standard of care, which Edward Jones was alleged to have violated.

The investigation found that Edward Jones charged front-load commissions for investments in Class A mutual fund shares in situations where the customer sold or moved the mutual fund shares sooner than originally anticipated. The states found gaps in Edward Jones’s supervisory procedures in this respect.

As part of the settlement, Edward Jones will pay an administrative fine of approximately $320,000 to each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. As a lead state on the case, Indiana was awarded an additional amount for investigative costs. In evaluating the supervisory failures and determining the appropriate resolution, investigators considered certain facts such as the positive performance of the investment advisory accounts as compared to the brokerage accounts.

“In partnership with NASAA and other state securities regulators, we will continue to protect Main Street investors and ensure that companies operating in Indiana follow our securities laws.  The Indiana Securities Division appreciates the ongoing cooperation of Edward Jones throughout this investigation and settlement process. Firms that offer both brokerage and investment advisory services should be mindful of fiduciary responsibility owed to customers and their investment assets.” said Diego Morales, Indiana Secretary of State.

• Government
• State of Indiana
• Federal

By The Office of Todd Young,

U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) introduced a resolution urging Germany, France, and the UK, also known as the E3, to start a snapback of sanctions on Iran. The snapback sanctions would include export controls, travel bans, asset freezes, and other restrictions on those involved in Iranian nuclear and missile activities.

“Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens not only the stability of the Middle East but also the safety of the entire world,” said Senator Young. “It is time for our European allies to join us in sending a clear message that the international community will not tolerate the dangerous actions of the Iranian regime or those who enable it."

More specifically, the resolution would:

• Recognize that Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon would threaten the security of the United States, our allies, and our partners;

• Condemn Iran’s flagrant and repeated violations of the first Iran nuclear deal;

• Condemn Communist China and Putin’s Russia for supporting Iran’s malign activities;

• Reaffirm America’s right to take any necessary measures to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons;

• Support increased sanctions on entities and individuals supporting Iran’s nuclear program; and

• Call on the E3 to invoke the snapback of United Nations (U.N.) sanctions against Iran under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 as soon as possible.

In addition to Senators Young and Ricketts, Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Jim Justice (R-W. Va.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) also introduced the resolution.

A companion resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5).

Full text of the resolution can be found here.