How We Investigate
Each year, the Auditor of State’s office receives hundreds of tips regarding suspected fraud and noncompliance with laws in government. These tips come from many sources, including public employees and concerned citizens as well as state auditors who find suspicious activity during a routine financial audit.
Tips or complaints of fraud and noncompliance with the law in Ohio’s governments may be made at any time by any public employee or private citizen.
Hundreds of tips alleging fraud are collected each year. If you have a tip, learn more about how to report fraud.
The Special Audit Task Force is a group of auditors and investigators led by Auditor Faber who evaluate tips and complaints received by the office.
If the Special Audit Task Force decides that a case falls under the authority of the Auditor of State’s Office and involves probable fraud, theft, or noncompliance, it is sent to the Special Investigations Unit for further review. Cases that are not subject to the Auditor of State’s authority may be referred to other local, state, or federal government agencies, prosecutors, or law enforcement officers.
Special Audits: A special audit is a limited-scope examination of financial records and other information designed to investigate allegations of fraud, theft, or misappropriation of funds — or to quantify the extent of such losses.
Special audits can be independent, stand-alone examinations, or they can be conducted during a regular financial audit. Independent, stand-alone examinations are necessary when an allegation requires extensive testing or if a timely review is not possible during a regular financial audit.
When the examination is conducted during a regular financial audit, special auditors work with financial auditors to ensure proper testing is done to determine whether public funds are unaccounted for or have been illegally spent. Separate special audits may be necessary, for example, if an investigation requires a significant amount of detailed testing, or if timely review of the complaint is not possible during the regular audit.
Special Investigations: Special investigators gather information that is not readily available during the special audit; this might include bank statements or credit card records that must be obtained through a subpoena. Investigators also may conduct interviews to identify persons responsible for the loss of public funds.
Investigators work closely with special auditors and the Financial Audit section to determine whether criminal activity has occurred. They also promote a coordinated effort with local, state, and federal government and law enforcement officials to combat public corruption in Ohio.
Once fieldwork has been completed, the Auditor of State’s Office will work with county or federal prosecutors to determine the next steps for a case. During each investigation, special auditors and investigators build a case file containing all information necessary to try a case if it goes to court.
Prosecutors have the option to work independently or to request the help of a special prosecutor from the Special Investigations Unit. The benefits of working with a special prosecutor from the Auditor’s office is the increased familiarity they have with the investigation and trial-court expertise in public-sector prosecutions.
Ohio Fraud Reporting
If you suspect misuse and/or misappropriation of public money, you can report suspected fraud several ways to the Auditor of State. Go to the bottom of the Reporting Fraud page for more information on how to report fraud.