An Ohio University graduate is under investigation by the Athens County Prosecutor's Office and the Ohio Election Commission for taking money from his election account. The money, however, has been paid back to the account.
Philip Roush, who ran for Athens City Council 3rd Ward representative against incumbent Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward, in November, is under suspicion of fraud regarding his campaign finances. At the end of the campaign, Roush had an outstanding bill of $1,338 from the Athens-based company Traditional Printers Inc. and $875 left in the campaign account, said Scott Hooper, an associate professor of Biological Sciences at OU. Hooper was the deputy treasurer for Roush during his campaign.
I'm embarrassed because I don't like things I'm associated with having financial problems
he said.
Hooper wrote the Athens County Board of Elections after he discovered that Roush had taken $1,005 from the account, mentioning that Roush could be held accountable for theft.
I'm sort of being driven by the media at this point Hooper said. I've been working on this a couple months.
Under media pressure, Hooper said he has made repeated efforts to contact Roush and settle all the accounts. The campaign account is Hooper's responsibility as the treasurer for Roush's campaign.
Today the debt on the account is zero, Hooper said.
Hooper has loaned the account $805.85, making the account balanced. On April 16, Roush sent a check for $1,100 through Fed-Ex to Hooper to cover the $1,005 that was taken out of the account. The check Roush wrote to pay Hooper back for the extra $805.85 is still in the mail.
This morning, Hooper said he planned to deliver a full report of the account to the Athens County Board of Elections.
Roush believed the debts were his responsibility and that he could take money out of the campaign account to pay the creditors, according to a letter received by Hooper from Roush on April 20.
Roush's inability to notify Hooper of his intentions to pay off the bills and his delayed response to Hooper's correspondence sent up red flags in Hooper's mind, he said.
Even if that's what he thought he's still breaking the law Hooper said. The only question is intent. It's up to the prosecutor to decide if he had intent to defraud or not.
Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren said the state is not sure yet if they will press charges. Warren is waiting for the results of an investigation.
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