A Worthington woman has been arrested on a felony forgery charge following a multi-year investigation into fraudulent construction bonds submitted in connection with U.S. Navy construction projects at Naval Support Activity Crane.

Tammy Sue Harrell, 54, was arrested at 10:09 p.m. Dec. 19 on a warrant charging her with forgery, a Level 6 felony, under Indiana law. According to court records, her bond was set at $8,000 surety, with 10% cash allowed. She was released after posting $800.

The charge stems from an investigation conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service into alleged fraudulent bond submissions made by Harrell between March 24, 2022, and July 9, 2024. The investigation was led by NCIS Investigator Deborah A. Rocco, who has more than 35 years of experience investigating felony-level crimes involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Harrell — a former co-owner of Harrell Contracting Inc., a veteran-owned small business based in Worthington — is accused of submitting fraudulent payment and performance bonds in support of construction contracts awarded to the company by the Navy’s Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Mid-Atlantic, Public Works Department at Crane. All of the projects were located on Naval Support Activity Crane, which spans portions of Greene, Martin, and Daviess counties.

Construction bonds are intended to guarantee that contractors complete projects according to contract requirements and protect the government from financial loss. Investigators allege that Harrell submitted bonds that falsely identified Great American Insurance Company as the surety and included forged signatures and corporate seals.

The scheme came to light in July 2024 when a Navy contracting officer requested verification of bonds submitted for a nearly $950,000 construction project. An investigation by an insurance company representative determined the bond was fraudulent, noting that the last legitimate bond issued to Harrell Contracting Inc. had been issued in September 2021 and that one of the purported signatories had died in December 2021.

Investigators allege Harrell submitted a total of 122 fraudulent bonds over a three-and-a-half-year period. Of those, 25 performance bonds are associated with confirmed financial losses to the Navy totaling $50,937, representing bond premium payments tied to 25 construction task orders valued at more than $2.36 million.

According to the affidavit, Harrell made multiple admissions during the investigation, acknowledging that she created and submitted the fraudulent bonds. She stated the actions were taken due to financial difficulties and without the knowledge of her husband and business co-owner, who is a U.S. Army veteran. Investigators indicated those statements were later confirmed through communications from the company’s legal counsel to the Department of the Navy.