The state loses tens of millions of dollars a year to fraud committed by employees of state agencies, boards and commissions, and universities. Two Republican lawmakers have sponsored a pair of bills in the House and Senate to give the agency that investigates those crimes more authority and tools.
House Bill 683 and Senate Bill 350 would add the inspector general and deputy inspector general to the official definition of "peace officer" in Ohio. That would give the IG's office the same power to go to court and request search warrants and subpoenas for electronic records such as emails and texts.
"Granting the inspector general's office law enforcement authority will enable the office to seek search warrants directly from the courts and make these investigations more efficient and effective," said Inspector General Randy Meyer, adding that accessing electronic communications is especially critical.
"Evidence from these sources is needed for investigators to conduct their investigations efficiently. These electronic records are not obtainable through the issuance of subpoenas."
“If we expect the office that is charged with rooting out fraud and abuse to do its job well, we must ensure it has access to the same investigative tools that are standard in modern law enforcement," said Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea), the sponsor of HB 683.
Sen. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) sponsored SB 350, and said the idea of expanding the IG's authority was supposed to be in the budget, but said he's not sure why it wasn't in the final version other than "it fell out and nobody remembered to put it back in."
Meyer noted as an example the investigation into fraud in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which ended in Ohio on Sept. 4, 2021. The state paid out $7.6 billion in PUA benefits, and more than a billion dollars of that was later found to be fraudulent. Meyer said between 2021 and 2025, the IG opened 28 investigations into the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services regarding the PUA program. He said evidence of the fraud involving turned up in text messages and information from Facebook Messenger, iCloud and iNotes.
"Pandemic Unemployment Assistance investigations uncovered egregious levels of fraud involving involving millions of tax dollars, primarily identified through electronic devices obtained in search warrants," Meyer said. "The office relied heavily on external law enforcement entities to approach the courts on its behalf to obtain these electronic search warrants for review."
Investigations into the PUA program in Ohio resulted in 20 reports, 166 criminal charges and 30 convictions, and $30.5 million in identified losses to the state.
Meyer said his office has already budgeted for required peace officer training for the IG’s staff. The IG got 368 complaints last year, resulting in 61 criminal charges and more than $10 million in losses.
Meyer also was asked about any investigations into the relationship between JobsOhio and Ted Carter, who resigned as president of Ohio State University March 7 because of an “inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business", according to an OSU spokesperson. Meyer said his office is still waiting for a written complaint that was expected this week. And he added that Gov. John Kasich blocked his office from investigating JobsOhio as it does other state agencies when it was created in 2012.
"The caveat was put in that if we receive a complaint and the complaint is not anonymous—so the person has to be named— then we have access to investigate them as a state agency as every other state agency," Meyer said.
The IG's office looks into activities by the executive branch of state government and anyone who does business with the state. The IG can't investigate state lawmakers and the legislative branch, the state's courts, and the other executive officeholders of attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer. And the IG can't look into local or federal officials or agencies.
