The Shawnee school's superintendent is facing felony charges from an investigation by the Ohio Auditor's Office at his previous job in Gallia County.
Jude Meyers was indicted by a Gallia County Grand Jury on the 13 counts of having an interest in a public contract, which are all fourth-degree felonies, and one count each of theft in office and a conflict of interest, which are a fifth-degree felony and a 1st misdemeanor respectively. Meyers pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday in Gallia County.
The Ohio Auditor’s Special Investigation Unit investigated the Meyers after receiving a complaint in January of 2019. According to the Auditor’s office, the indictment alleges that between February 1st, 2015 and June 30th, 2019, Meyer allegedly used his position as Superintendent of Gallia County Local School to get his son a job. He also allegedly got 13 separate contracts for work as a substitute employee or for supplemental coaching positions. The indictment also says that Meyers allegedly used school equipment for personal use, including a van and trailer, a lawn mower, and a school vehicle. Meyers resigned months before he was hired to be the Shawnee superintendent.
We spoke to Shawnee School Board President Clay Balyeat and he says that the board knew about the allegations against Meyers when they were interviewing for the position and contacted the state about the allegations but didn’t get any response. The Shawnee School Board has known for a month about potential charges. Balyeat says there is no potential harm to the students or staff. The board is allowing Meyers to continue to work as normal, and they will continue to monitor the case out of Gallia County.
Press Release from the Ohio Auditor of State: Columbus – The Gallia County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against the former superintendent of the Gallia County Local School District following allegations that he used his position to gain employment contracts for his son and otherwise misused District resources, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced Monday.
Jude E. Meyers is facing 13 criminal counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, all fourth-degree felonies; one count of theft in office, a fifth-degree felony; and one count of conflict of interest, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Meyers was arraigned in Gallia County Common Pleas Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit investigated Meyers after receiving a complaint in January 2019. The indictment alleges that, between Feb. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019, Meyers used his position as superintendent of Gallia County Local Schools to secure employment for his son, Marcus C. Meyers. According to the indictment, Marcus Meyers received at least 13 separate contracts for work as a substitute employee or for supplemental coaching positions.
The indictment also alleges that Meyers used his position as a public official to commit theft from the school district. The State alleges that Meyers converted school equipment and other resources for his personal benefit, including a school district van and trailer to move furniture and other personal belongings between residences, school-owned lawn equipment to mow his lawn, and a school vehicle for personal uses when his own vehicle was being repaired.
Meyers served as superintendent of Gallia County Local Schools from 2014 through mid-2021, when he resigned to accept a position as superintendent of Shawnee Local Schools in Lima.
Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 81 convictions resulting in more than $2.7 million in restitution (Map of SIU Convictions Since January 2019: https://ohioauditor.gov/fraud/convictions_map.html). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364).
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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.
