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Findings for Recovery Withdrawn Against North College Hill Officials after Credit Card Transactions Verified

For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov

Columbus – The Auditor of State’s Office has withdrawn findings for recovery against several North College Hill officials after city administration provided documentation confirming questioned credit card transactions were for a proper public purpose.

The report for the audit of the Hamilton County community’s financial activities for 2019 and 2020 also was reissued Thursday and is available on the Auditor’s website through Audit Search.

The initial audit for North College Hill, released on Sept. 8, included findings for recovery against Public Works Director Martin Cole, Police Chief Ryan Schrand, Fire Chief Brian Fels, and former Finance Director Angelina Burton, after auditors found six separate credit card transactions that had no supporting documentation to substantiate they were for a proper public purpose.

Since the initial report was published, North College Hill officials were able to obtain documentation and support for the credit card expenditures in question, and the finding was eliminated from the re-issued report.

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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 6,000 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.