The commander of a Northeast Indiana Air National Guard unit was cleared of any legal wrongdoing Wednesday after he was anonymously accused of misconduct and misspending more than $230,000.
In April, an anonymous tip to a Fort Wayne media outlet accused 122nd Fighter Wing Commander Col. David Augustine of eleven separate instances of misconduct or misappropriation of funds.
Those accusations included improperly spending $100,000 on speech classes for Guard members and using an A-10 Thunderbolt as a personal taxi.
The tip led Indiana Adjutant General Martin Umbarger to order an investigation of Augustine.
At a press conference Wednesday, Umbarger announced that an independent investigation found no evidence that the claims against Augustine were substantiated, and cleared him of any wrongdoing.
After going point-by-point through each of the accusations, Umbarger reaffirmed his “continued trust and confidence” in Augustine’s integrity to lead the 122nd, and pointed out that while people may disagree with some of Augustine’s decisions, it did not make those decisions wrong or illegal.
Augustine has led the Fort Wayne unit since 2011.