Another Ohio public entity scammed out of more than $400,000

By J.D. Davidson
The Center Square

For the second time this week, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber released details of a public entity being scammed out of more than $400,000 in a payment redirection scheme.

Faber said Thursday that a Highland County employee transferred more than $400,000 to a person impersonating a vendor after the county failed to implement safe and training to make sure redirect requests were legitimate.

As previously reported by The Center Square, Faber announced earlier this week that an audit showed The Cleveland Public Library transferred almost $400,000 to a fake vendor as part of a payment redirect scam after the library also failed to adopt proper internal controls that would have detected the scheme.

More than a year ago, Faber issued a bulletin to all public offices on handling payment redirect requests.

Auditors said the September 2024 incident showed a Highland County employee received the request and transferred two payments totaling $450,120 to the fake account before the scam was discovered.

The county recovered more than $184,073 from the bank involved, and insurance covered another $263,546. However, state auditors issued a finding for recovery for the $2,500 insurance deductible.

“Prior to accepting the changes to payment information, none of the bulletin’s recommended steps were taken to independently verify that the request was legitimate. In addition, the county auditor had not adopted a policy or implemented training for employees in his office and in other county offices to recognize vendor redirect schemes,” auditors wrote in their report.