Their charges continue the fallout from audits by Wright State University and State Auditor Dave Yost that uncovered nearly $94,900 that was either missing or misspent at the medical school during a three-year period. The audit resulted in four people being fired, including Walker and Richardson, who are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 9.
Walker, 42, is accused of collecting $15,180 through fictitious receipts for people who did not participate in federal medical studies and submitting two receipts for one interview or preparing them when no interview took place. He had also an outstanding petty cash balance of $220, according to the audit. Walker was employed as an outreach worker for community health. He worked at the school from 2008 to 2011 and earned $30,583 in his last full year of employment in 2010, according to state and university records.
Richardson, 41, is accused of claiming $4,200 through fictitious receipts, according to the audit. She was employed as a prevention educator for community health. She worked for Boonshoft from 2009 to 2011 and earned $22,927 in her last full year of employment in 2010, according to records.
Both were fired Nov. 2, according to Wright State.
Two other employees, Todd Mathias and David Raines, were also terminated for illegal spending as a result of the audits.
Raines, a computer systems administrator, pleaded guilty on July 12 to misdemeanor theft for using $6,709 in university money to purchase two-way radios he later sold as cash. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, which the judge suspended. He paid full restitution, according to court records.
Mathias, a research interventions interviewer, is accused of receiving $17,366 by filing fictitious receipts, personal purchases and cash withdrawals, according to the state audit. He was employed from 2010 to 2011, when he earned $26,040 before being fired in Sept. 22, according to university records. According to Wright State, the university referred a case on Mathias to prosecutors in Columbus, but the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office reported it had no information on the case as of Thursday.
Three other WSU employees were identified in the state audit as either having outstanding petty cash balances or submitting false receipts, but Wright State found no indication of criminal activity. Yost’s audit also disclosed that $49,780 in gift cards meant to pay participants in medical studies were never distributed. Since the missing gift cards have not been accounted for and could not be tied to individual employees, Yost said no one has been disciplined for their disappearance
The missing funds were tied to federal research studies and was repaid to the university by Wright State Physicians, Inc., a private organization of doctors who work at the medical school.
“The integrity of the research data was examined in detail by the Wright State University vice president for research and graduate studies. His investigation determined that there was no compromise of the research database or research integrity,” said Cindy Young, a Boonshoft spokeswoman.
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