Former Clay City Town Clerk, Karla Pipes was in Federal Court Tuesday for her initial hearing on charges of embezzling over $200,000 from the town. The judge ruled that Pipes would not be held in jail while awaiting trial. She was ordered to not leave the Southern Indiana Federal District and she had to turn in her passport. Pipes also gave up her right to be tried in front of a Grand Jury. Federal prosecutors accuse Pipes of making unauthorized credit card transactions on town credit cards in the amount of $280,000 between 2020 and 2023 when she was the Clay City Clerk.