Former Delaware County EMS Office Manager Arrested on Theft Charges

DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — Indiana State Police have arrested the former office manager of Delaware County EMS.

According to an affidavit for probable cause, 42-year-old Meagan R. Coutinho of Albany, Indiana, was arrested around 1 p.m. Wednesday. She has been preliminarily charged with four counts of theft, one count of official misconduct and one count of conflict of interest. All of the preliminary charges Coutinho faces are Level 5 and Level 6 Felonies.

During their investigation of Coutinho, which began earlier this year, state police determined her alleged transgressions dated back approximately five years. Per ISP, Coutinho committed the bulk of her alleged crimes in her roles as a Delaware County EMS office manager and a treasurer for a high school girls golf team’s booster club.

Coutinho was hired as a Delaware County EMS office manager in 2019. ISP found that, between July 2021 and February 2026, Coutinho submitted 5,872 “unapproved and unauthorized” overtime hours. The pay she stood to gain from her submission of those hours was $181,749.93.

State police spoke with Coutinho’s direct supervisor — Delaware County EMS Director Mike Ashley — during their investigation. Ashley indicated that he was the only person who could have approved or authorized any of the overtime Coutinho submitted. On that same note, Ashley added that he did not approve or authorize the overtime Coutinho entered.

Both Ashley and a Delaware County attorney told ISP they confronted Coutinho about her unauthorized overtime pay. Troopers reported that Coutinho admitted to paying herself the overtime.

Coutinho did try to legitimize the overtime she submitted, claiming a former Delaware County human resources director and an ex-employee of the county auditor’s office authorized the overtime hours she submitted. When state police approached the two individuals Coutinho mentioned, they both told investigators they never had the authority to approve Coutinho’s excessive overtime hours.

In addition to the alleged overtime exaggeration, Coutinho made 26 transfers from a Delaware County EMS fund to her own personal bank account from September 2024 to March 2026. Those transactions totaled $14,408.15.

According to court documents, state police also learned Coutinho had paid her own credit card bills via the aforementioned EMS account. Those payments amounted to $5,302.64. Investigators also made note of “numerous cash withdrawals from the EMS internal account, dubious payments to utility companies, Amazon purchases, in-store purchases, etc.”

State police did not specify how much money Delaware County EMS lost via Coutinho’s “numerous cash withdrawals” and “dubious payments to utility companies.” ISP did, however, confirm Coutinho did not have the authority to make any transfers or withdrawals for her own personal use.

State records indicate Coutinho also owns a cleaning business called Exquisitely Spotless. During their investigation, troopers determined Coutinho’s business had agreed to “an oral contract” with Delaware County Commissioners to clean the Delaware County 911 Center on a regular basis.

The agreement was reached sometime in 2024. At that time, county commissioners instructed Coutinho to check with county attorneys to ensure the contract was legal. They also urged her to file a legally required conflict of interest statement.

The Indiana State Board of Accounts indicated that Coutinho never filed a conflict of interest statement. Despite that, she still received $7,000 for the services her business allegedly rendered at the Delaware County 911 Center between March 2025 and March 2026.

Coutinho resigned during ISP’s investigation of her alleged activity. After her resignation, officials searched Coutinho’s office and found eight uncashed checks.

Under Indiana law, checks made payable to a local or state agency must be cashed no later than the business day following the agency’s receipt of said checks.

The checks officials found in Coutinho’s office dated back as far as January 2024. The eight checks were worth a total of $12,032.83.

In the affidavit, state police indicated that, “by depriving Delaware County or Delaware County EMS of use or value of the $12,032.83, Coutinho committed the criminal offense of theft.”

In addition to the money she allegedly siphoned from the County, Coutinho has been accused of stealing from the Delta High School Girls Golf Team’s booster club.

Coutinho reportedly stole from the booster club after a June 2024 golf outing. The booster club received checks and cash during the outing. Coutinho was responsible for depositing the funds.

Booster club leadership determined Coutinho deposited $3,040 in checks. About $1,968 the club received in cash was not deposited.

The booster club’s administrators also reviewed transactions Coutinho made with the organization’s debit card when she was in possession of it. Coutinho reportedly spent $510.54 at PayLess Supermarket, Menards and Walmart with the card.

Booster club leaders told ISP that they did not believe the transactions involved supplies purchased for the organization in any way.

During an interview with investigators, Coutinho denied that the booster club had always been a profitable endeavor. She also suggested that she had been in Florida when the fundraiser was held. Coutinho added that she deposited everything that was in the bag that the club used to collect funds during the outing.

Troopers asked Coutinho if she used the booster club debit card for her own personal gain. She denied doing so. Coutinho also claimed that she must have mistakenly used the club debit card for personal or business purchases.

In December 2025, Coutinho reimbursed the booster clubs $3,800.

Coutinho is the wife of John Coutinho, the director of the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency.

In March, Delaware County Commissioners suspended John Coutinho with pay “pending an internal investigation regarding funding in another department that works with the Emergency Management Authority.” County commissioners indicated that John Coutinho’s suspension would continue until the investigation is complete.

At the time, county commissioners and the county prosecutor provided few details on the investigation. Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman confirmed a county employee was under investigation for theft, but he did not confirm the identity of the employee.

“Once that investigation is complete, it will be turned over to me for a formal charging determination,” Hoffman said in March. “I cannot identify the target or targets of the investigation, nor the specifics or the status of an active criminal investigation.”

Ashley was suspended for three days in March. County commissioners suspended him without pay for “unsatisfactory work.”

Corey Kissik, the deputy director of the Delaware County EMA, took over for John Coutinho when his suspension was handed down. The employment status of John Coutinho is currently unclear.

Formal charges have not yet been filed against Meagan Countinho. Therefore, potential court dates, bond amounts and other case information are not yet available.