Report Of The Ohio Department Of Rehabilitation And Correction

Beginning in January of 2015, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) issued a complaint to the Office of the Ohio Inspector General alleging four instances of possible wrongdoing by employees of the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (APA). The wrongdoing that was alleged in all four instances involved parolees being held in correctional facilities on APA orders of hold beyond time frames allowed by APA policy.

On August 7, 2015, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) notified the Office of the Ohio Inspector General that on July 27, 2015, Marion Correctional Institution (MCI) staff had discovered two unauthorized personal computers hidden on a plywood board in the ceiling above a closet in a training room. The two computers were connected to ODRC's computer network and were not owned by the State of Ohio.

On January 7, 2016, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General received an email from Joanna Saul, former executive director of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, regarding an anonymous complaint it received from an inmate housed at Belmont Correctional Institution (BeCI). The inmate provided a copy of a flyer that had been posted at BeCI entitled "Make the Warden Walk!" The flyer stated for every donation of $1, an inmate would be credited with 100 hours of community service. The inmate felt this was unfair to those who could not afford to donate money from their account. Saul stated in her email she believed community service hours were reported to the court and "... it is possible that some reports have been sent with false community service hours and that that information has been used to make release decisions." Saul also stated she had informed the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) of the same complaint. Upon receipt of Saul's email, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General contacted ODRC and it was confirmed the agency had received the same complaint from Saul on January 6, 2016, and had assigned the complaint to the ODRC chief inspector's office for investigation. The Office of the Ohio Inspector General immediately opened an investigation and ODRC was advised to suspend their internal review. On January 8, 2016, in compliance with the governor's memorandum outlining reporting of possible wrongful or illegal activities by state employees, ODRC submitted a notice of suspected wrongful acts committed by Michele Miller, the warden at BeCI, regarding the crediting of community service hours to inmates for monetary donations received.

During the course of another investigation, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General discovered evidence that indicated the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), Marion Correctional Institution (MCI), circumvented proper competitive bid processes. Specifically, MCI had amended a terminated contract with WinWin, Inc. (WinWin), and failed to inform and provide the ODRC contract administration with relevant information related to the contract's termination and subsequent contract addendums.

On August 19, 2014, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General was contacted with a request for assistance in an on-going investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General (USDOE-OIG). The USDOE-OIG identified particular applications for federal student aid using identities of individuals incarcerated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). USDOE-OIG requested assistance from the Office of the Ohio Inspector General in determining how the identities of the inmates could have been used to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and if any ODRC employees were involved in the scheme. An investigation was opened on August 21, 2014.