Evansville Trio Charged in Kickback Scheme

In a shocking case of public corruption, a federal grand jury has indicted Mariama Wilson, 50, the elected Pigeon Township Trustee, and her co-conspirators, William Payne, 49, and Terrance Hardiman, 32, all of Evansville, on five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hardiman was also charged with one count of money laundering.

The indictment was unsealed on April 26, 2023, following the three defendants’ arrests and initial appearances. According to the indictment, Wilson and Payne agreed to hire Hardiman and his business, Hardiman Construction LLC, to remodel a homeless shelter and develop a food pantry, in exchange for Hardiman agreeing to kick back a portion of the funds that he received from the Trustee’s Office to Wilson and Payne.

Between February 11, 2020, and May 16, 2022, the Trustee’s Office paid Hardiman approximately $215,371 for the homeless shelter and food pantry projects. As a result of the kickback scheme, Wilson and Payne received approximately $38,000 in total, or approximately $19,000 each.

“Government officials who engage in corruption betray the public’s trust, for their personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Inflated invoices and kickbacks rob the taxpayers of their hard-earned money and damage the trust that citizens are entitled to have in their government.”

The investigation and charges announced today demonstrate our office’s commitment to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to root out public corruption at all levels of government.

The FBI and our law enforcement partners will always work together to investigate allegations such as this and ensure perpetrators are held accountable, said Justin Campbell, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

Wilson, Payne, and Hardiman are scheduled to appear in court on April 26, 2023, for a detention hearing. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and up to 10 years in prison on the money laundering count.

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