INDIANAPOLIS — The legal troubles facing former State Representative Dan Forestal have taken a new turn.
The Democrat from the Indianapolis south side, who was also a city firefighter before retiring, quit the legislature earlier this year. At the time, he had been arrested for resisting law enforcement. That case is pending in Marion County Superior Court.
PREVIOUS: Indiana Rep. Dan Forestal resigns after battery arrest to 'focus on mental health'
A year earlier, Forestal was charged with impersonating a public servant, resisting law enforcement, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to the impersonating charge and received a suspended sentence.
Now, Forestal faces new trouble stemming from his time in the General Assembly. He is charged with one felony count of filing a fraudulent campaign report, and two misdemeanor counts of failure to report campaign receipts between 2018 and 2019. All are outlined in a probable cause affidavit from Special Prosecutor Brent Eaton.
Forestal, besides allegedly filing the fraudulent report, improperly utilized money received as political contributions for non-political purposes. He's due in court for an initial hearing December 15.
The campaign-related charges were filed following an investigation by the FBI and Indiana State Police. According to the probable cause, Forestal allegedly "used campaign funds to purchases not related to his campaign for state representative. The purchases included expenses to businesses in China, virtual currency, casinos and other."
At the time of his resignation from the legislature, Forestal said he needed to focus on his mental health.
“The past eight years of service to the State of Indiana and the people of House District 100 have been the greatest honor of my lifetime,” Forestal said. “The time is long overdue for me to focus on my mental health and get myself well. I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support during this difficult time. We need to work together to shatter the stigma around mental health issues in the State of Indiana and address them with the same treatment and philosophy as physical health issues. Hoosiers should not have to live in fear of having their struggles with mental health be exposed and have attached to them the negative stigma that comes with suffering from mental health issues."
