Findings for Recovery of More Than $19,000 Issued Against Former Warren County Ag Society Officials over Late Fees and Penalties

COLUMBUS — More than $19,000 in findings for recovery were issued Thursday against former officials for the Warren County Agricultural Society over fees and penalties that resulted from late credit card and utility bill payments.

The two late fee-related findings against former Board Secretary Rebecca Osborne, former Board Secretary and Treasurer Andy Ryerson, former Executive Director Eugene Steiner, and former Board Treasurer Mitchell Monroe were among the issues identified in an audit of the ag society’s finances from Dec. 1, 2019, through Nov. 30, 2023.

The full report is available online at ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx.

Auditors determined that the ag society failed to pay utility bills on time, resulting in more than 100 late fees, interest, and disconnect fees totaling $11,323.64.

Auditors noted, “The society’s failure to timely remit payments on seven utility accounts on 108 instances from 2019 to 2023 is considered gross negligence…. These charges could have been avoided had the society remitted timely payments to its accounts.”

Auditors also determined the society did not pay credit card bills on time, resulting in 33 late fees and interest charges totaling $8,448.97.

Auditors noted, “Late fees and interest for delinquent credit cards incurred through gross negligence are illegal expenditures (that) do not serve a proper public purpose.”

The two issues resulted in combined late fees findings for recovery of $5,512.80 against Osborne, $5,653.38 against Ryerson, and $8,606.43 against Steiner and Monroe jointly and severally.

One additional finding for recovery was included in Thursday’s audit, totaling $453.55, for unsupported expenditures that were made using society credit cards. About half of that total was repaid under audit.

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The Auditor of State’s Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov