COLUMBUS – The Jefferson County Grand Jury returned indictments against two former officials at Eastern Gateway Community College (EGCC), following allegations that they used college credit cards for purchases not related to the operations of the school, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced.

Jimmie Bruce, former EGCC president, and James Miller, former vice president/chief of staff, both face felony counts of grand theft, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, having an unlawful interest in a public contract, and misuse of credit cards, plus misdemeanor counts of misuse of credit cards and having an unlawful interest in a public contract.

The indictment was filed Wednesday in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court. Bruce and Miller are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 23.

The alleged inappropriate expenditures came to light during a routine audit of the college’s financial activities for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.  

An investigation by the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) ultimately identified 205 credit card transactions totaling more than $28,757 that were not related to the operations of the college.

Bruce and Miller were placed on administrative leave in January 2020 and subsequently fired.

SIU attorneys are serving as special prosecutors in the case, under appointment from Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 115 convictions resulting in more than $8.2 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictions since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

###

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.