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Ben Shoulders, a former Vanderburgh County Commissioner, is facing serious allegations of misusing campaign funds to purchase high-value baseball cards. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Vanderburgh Circuit Court, Shoulders allegedly spent over $41,000 on eBay using a debit card linked to his “Shoulders for Commissioner” account and mislabeled these purchases on his campaign finance reports.

Notable among these purchases were a $235 Johnny Bench rookie card and a $570 Satchel Paige card, which were listed as “signs” and “banner” on campaign documents. While most reported expenditures appeared legitimate, the baseball card entries and additional transactions for nearly $500 worth of Pokémon cards, marked as “signs” at a local store, raised red flags for investigators.

The investigation was triggered when Shoulders himself contacted the Evansville Police Department in October 2023, reporting fraudulent activity on his campaign account. He claimed to have lost his debit card around April and denied knowing who made the disputed charges between May and August. However, further examination revealed conflicting evidence, including records indicating that he was the sole authorized user of the account and that purchases continued after he reported the card as lost.

Email records revealed confirmation of multiple eBay orders for rare baseball cards, including 1965 and 1967 Mickey Mantle cards and a 1966 Willie Mays card, all shipped to Shoulders’ home. Police say he used his campaign account for these transactions.

Records also showed Shoulders attempted to claim over $26,000 from Old National Bank’s fraud department as reimbursement for the so-called fraudulent charges, but his request was denied. Just a month after this failed attempt, he resigned as commissioner, stating, “It has truly been an honor to serve our great county as a public servant.”

Shoulders was subsequently arrested and charged with offenses including attempted fraud and filing a false report. Released on a $500 bond, he awaited an initial court appearance. The affidavit also uncovered discrepancies involving checks marked as charitable donations, which were instead deposited into a business account controlled by Shoulders.