Bobby Deppen
HARDIN CO., Ill.—The former Hardin County chief deputy who’s been on unpaid leave since he was first charged with Johnson County felonies in June has now been charged in Hardin County.
Bobby Deppen, 47, of Harrisburg, was arrested at his home this evening by Harrisburg Police Department and Hardin County Sheriff’s office on a Hardin County warrant for Official Misconduct.
We don’t know what the “official misconduct” in Hardin County entails, and likely won’t until we see the file tomorrow, but the probability that it has to do with his legal problems in Johnson County dating back to 2011 is a good one.
Deppen stands charged in Johnson with filing fraudulent insurance claims in that county after he reported a theft and loss of $72,000 worth of property at that time. The alleged fraud was perpetrated against COUNTRY Financial Insurance, for whom Deppen used to work.
The ensuing investigation was, as we reported in the June issue, the “tip of the iceberg” according to authorities. We spoke with Harrisburg police chief Bob Smith a couple of weeks ago, who advised that to his knowledge, the investigation was “ongoing” and involved a number of different agencies.
We’ve since learned that Deppen might not be the only one charged in alleged schemes to defraud insurance companies; and that other area police officers who used to work for insurance companies have allegedly conducted themselves similarly and might be arrested and charged as follow-ups to this investigation. Whether they were associated with Deppen or acted independently remains unknown.
Deppen is reported as being held in Saline County Detention Center tonight on a $1,000 cash bond.