Former Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic administrator charged with forgery, theft of clinic funds

SOUTH BEND — Jennifer Ihns, 44, faces 11 charges in connection with the internal theft of funds over a seven-year period from the University of Notre Dame Law School's Clinical Law Center (formerly the Legal Aid Clinic.)

An internal audit performed by the university in mid-2016 of the Clinical Law Center 's financial accounts revealed what county prosecutors termed "wide-spread evidence of improper handling of Clinic funds." The university audit revealed evidence of more than $199,000 in missing funds.

Prosecutors accepted and reviewed the findings of the university's audit and charged Ihns under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupted Organizations (RICO) statute, known as Corrupt Business Influence; four counts of Class D felony theft; one count of Class D felony forgery; and 5 counts of Level 6 felony theft. Prosecutors said the different classes of charges reflect the changes in the state's criminal code over the time span of the charges.

Ihns was booked into the county jail and posted $10,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

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