Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber today released the 2019 audit of the University of Toledo, and issued a finding for recovery against Jason Woodward, a former university employee who spent $22,238 of the university’s money on personal expenses.

“This case uncovered an appalling abuse of public dollars,” Auditor Faber said. “Student’s pay enough for college, they certainly shouldn’t be footing the bill for this employees personal expenses.”

On July 5, 2019, the Internal Auditor for the university issued a report related to financial activities under the control of Woodward, who resigned during the Internal Auditor’s examination.

Woodward, a former fiscal specialist at the university’s Minority Business Development Center (MBCD) and Eberly Center for Women (ECW), processed deposit and withdrawal transactions in an account at the University of Toledo Federal Credit Union. Woodward was the account holder per Credit Union records, although the account was in the university’s name.

Based on the Internal Auditor’s investigation, Woodward diverted certain revenue items including class fees from the ECW, MBDC monthly office rentals from minority businesses, and donations to the University of Toledo Foundation for ECW fundraising events to the Credit Union account. He then used those funds to pay various personal expenses like credit card payments and insurance bills. Of the $30,947 in revenue diverted to the accounts, the Internal Auditor was able to determine Woodward expended $22,238 for his personal use.

Auditor Faber issued a finding for recovery for $22,238 against Woodward, in favor of the University of Toledo General Fund.

On August 21, 2019, Woodward pled guilty to charges of Theft in Office and was ordered to repay the full $22,238. On October 2, 2019, the Lucas County Prosecutor filed paperwork with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System to recover these funds from the retirement account of Woodward.

A full copy of the audit report is available online.

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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. 

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Allie Dumski

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