In the News
Press Release: Westerville Chief of Police to Head Bureau of Criminal Investigation
WESTERVILLE (Jan. 4, 2019) – Westerville Division of Police Chief Joseph Morbitzer has been selected by Attorney General-elect Dave Yost to be the next superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. His resignation as Westerville Chief of Police is effective Friday, January 25. “Chief Morbitzer is a nationally respected law enforcement leader,” said Yost. “His
Read moreRead morePress Release: Attorney General-Elect Yost Announces Deputy AG for Law Enforcement, State Solicitor and Key Administrative Staff
COLUMBUS (Jan. 2, 2019) – Attorney General-elect Dave Yost today announced the appointment of his deputy attorney general for law enforcement, state solicitor, director of external affairs, chief information officer, and human resources chief and labor counsel. Yost previously announced appointments to several other top legal, management and operations positions. Information on those individuals can
Read moreRead morePress Release: Attorney General-Elect Yost Makes First Round of Senior Staff Announcements
COLUMBUS (Dec. 18, 2018) – Attorney General-elect Dave Yost today announced the appointment of several senior members of his incoming legal, management and operations teams. Selecting individuals with broad experience across government and the private sector, Yost named his first assistant attorney general, chief of staff, chief counsel, deputy first assistant attorney general, director of
Read moreRead moreOhio marijuana licensing process full of errors, state auditor Yost says
The Columbus Dispatch | Jim Siegel In late November, the commerce department announced the winners of cultivator provisional licenses, but many of the unsuccessful applicants challenged the scoring and lawsuits were filed over various issues, including the selection of experts to oversee the process. Yost’s office launched an examination of the process and uncovered errors
Read moreRead moreDave Yost opposes state Issue 1; Steve Dettelbach undecided
The Columbus Dispatch | Marty Schladen Republican Attorney General candidate Dave Yost said Tuesday that Ohio drug laws need changes, but state Issue 1 is not the way to fix them. Yost, who is currently state auditor, said the proposed state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot would “create chaos” in the court system. The measure
Read moreRead moreAttorney general candidates critique Ohio’s response to drug-abuse crisis
The Columbus Dispatch | Jim Siegel As drug-overdose deaths in Ohio continue to hit shocking record highs, Dave Yost doesn’t want to just tweak the state’s effort to combat the heroin and opioid crisis. “A great deal of what we think is wrong, and we need to do things substantially differently,” said the state auditor
Read moreRead moreEx-Strongsville schools maintenance foreman faces jail time, admits ripping off school
Cleveland.com | Cory Shaffer CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former maintenance foreman at Strongsville City Schools faces jail time after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $60,000 in district money that he used to outfit his Columbia Station home and to buy a custom-built John Deere utility vehicle. Robert Schwerman, 49, stood before Cuyahoga County
Read moreRead moreOhio prescription drug middlemen made more money from generic medications, report says
Cleveland.com | Jackie Borchardt COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s prescription drug middlemen kept 31 percent of the money they were paid to manage generic medications for Medicaid patients, reducing the amount pharmacies were paid to dispense the drugs, according to a new state auditor’s analysis of drug transactions. But the analysis left many more questions unanswered about whether
Read moreRead moreJudging is an Unnatural Act
KEYNOTE ADDRESS Columbus, Ohio, Franklin County Republican Party Judicial Salute August 15, 2018 Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost My wife recently asked me how I felt about the campaign. “Well, honey…I’m pretty much living out of my car. I bother people I’ve only just met to give me money. I didn’t know this was
Read moreRead morePress Release: Yost Calls on Dettelbach to Disclose Opioid “Legal and Monetary Firewall” Agreement
COLUMBUS (July 16, 2018) – Auditor of State and GOP attorney general nominee Dave Yost today called on Democratic challenger Steve Dettelbach to come clean about his role in the fight to protect big drug companies from Ohio’s opioid lawsuit. The Associated Press reported Dettelbach’s firm is defending Endo Health Solutions and Endo Pharmaceuticals, two drug companies sued by
Read moreRead moreCost of opioid addiction stretching Medicaid safety net
The Columbus Dispatch | Catherine Candisky In southern Ohio’s Scioto County, ground zero for the state’s opioid crisis, 62 of every 1,000 Medicaid enrollees have been diagnosed with drug addiction, the highest rate in the state and up 148 percent since 2010. Statewide, the rate of dependence, abuse or overdose among those on Medicaid jumped
Read moreRead moreSenate Approves Surprise Amendment To Give Auditor More Of A Role In JobsOhio Audits
Statehouse News Bureau | Karen Kasler As the House was going through multiple rounds of voting to pick a new Speaker, the Senate passed a surprise amendment to expand the state auditor’s power to look into the workings of the privatized non-profit entity JobsOhio… The amendment gives the state auditor more of a role in
Read moreRead moreState audit orders former Alexandria official to repay $201,153
Newark Advocate A state audit of the village of Alexandria, released Tuesday, orders former fiscal officer Laura Vanscoy Andrews to repay the village $201,153 for checks written to herself, money stolen from deposits and payments lacking supporting documentation. Vanscoy Andrews, found guilty in November of theft in office, tampering with records, and dereliction of duty,
Read moreRead moreAudit details nearly $175,000 stolen by former Lucas Co. court employee
WTOL A state audit released Thursday details a theft of almost $175,000 by a former employee of the Lucas County Clerk of Courts office, who was sentenced last week to jail time for theft in office. The audit of Lucas County also notes that an ongoing investigation by the Auditor of State’s Public Integrity Assurance Team
Read moreRead more‘Our work not complete,’ Ohio auditor says after Infante sentencing
The Youngstown Vindicator | Ed Runyan The Ralph Infante corruption case has concluded, but Auditor of State Dave Yost, whose agency carried out most of the investigation, says, “Our work is not complete in the Mahoning Valley.” He made that comment when his office was asked last week about an insider remark that the Infante
Read moreRead moreFormer Niles mayor Ralph Infante convicted on 22 of 32 corruption charges
The Youngstown Vindicator | Ed Runyan In the first local criminal trial of a major Trumbull County public official in a decade, Ralph Infante was convicted of 22 criminal charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity throughout his 24 years as Niles mayor. Infante looked straight ahead late Monday and did not seem
Read moreRead moreEx-Strongsville schools foreman charged with stealing $65K in equipment, including John Deere tractor, from district
cleveland.com | Cory Shaffer A former maintenance foreman at Strongsville City Schools faces felony charges Tuesday after officials said he used district money to buy equipment — including a $20,000 custom-built John Deere tractor and a tool shed — for himself over five years. Robert Schwerman used the school’s maintenance account to outfit his Lorain home
Read moreRead moreDave Yost said this software was the ‘smoking gun’ in ECOT audit. What does it do?
cleveland.com | Jackie Borchardt The software that was intended to help the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow accurately report student activity was used by state auditors to show the now-shuttered online charter school might not have been completely honest in its reporting. Ohio Auditor Dave Yost said ActivTrak was the “smoking gun” that allowed auditors to prove
Read moreRead moreAudit: Columbus health-services provider owes $2 million
The Columbus Dispatch | Bennett Leckrone A Columbus home health-services provider owes more than $2 million after it billed the state for services it was not authorized to provide, according to the state auditor. America’s Home Health Services owes a total of $2.13 million, including interest, to the Ohio Department of Medicaid. The company billed
Read moreRead moreAudit: ESC spent $93K in error
Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison According to a new report from the Ohio State Auditor Dave Yost’s office, the Lawrence County Educational Service Center and its former treasurer erroneously spent almost $93,000 in expenses with funds of a now-shuttered charter school that it sponsored. An audit of the Lawrence County Academy, which closed in June
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