On April 3, the Athens County Sheriff's Department arrested Jean Demosky who was, at the time, the executive director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. Demosky has since been terminated from her position, according to Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel.
At the time of her arrest, Demosky was accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. On April 6, seven additional charges were brought forward: three counts of theft in office, one count of telecommunication fraud, one count of credit card fraud and two counts of intimidation.
Her arrest comes after an investigation into the non-profit, the Athens County Community Cares Fund. The non-profit is promoted as working to help Athens County residents faced with poverty, homelessness, hunger and health conditions.
Chmiel said he first heard rumors of financial issues pertaining to the non-profit in 2025.
“Last year, I started hearing about challenges, then we finally got a number from the state earlier this year, and it’s a lot of money,” Chmiel said. “We had gotten some reports from the state … it became evident that the non-profit was sort of involved with a lot of these costs accruing.”
On the warrant for Demosky’s arrest, it is claimed that through the non-profit’s use of funds for ineligible children, it has cost the county over $1 million.
Chmiel said the misallocation of funds due to the non-profit will be paid back by taxpayers from the county’s general fund, which comes from property tax and sales tax, according to Chmiel.
One of the issues with the non-profit was that the county employees under Demosky were instructed to work on things for the non-profit during normal office hours. For non-profits, all work should be completed outside of work hours, meaning that the county is not paying employees for it, as it is not part of their job description.
“Non-profit work really can’t happen during regular business hours, so to speak,” Chmiel said. “It sort of has to be an extra and above and beyond kind of thing.”
Athens County Commissioner Charlie Adkins was also arrested and charged with intimidation. His arraignment is set for April 24, according to court documents.
Ronald O’Brien, former Franklin County prosecutor, has been named as special prosecutor for the trial. Keller Blackburn, Athens County prosecutor, reached out to O’Brien to ask him to take on the role of prosecutor for the case.
“Blackburn felt that … since he represented the county, as well as the commissioner and director, at least on other matters, that he should, in order to avoid an appearance of a conflict, get an outside special prosecutor,” O’Brien said.
Keith Wiens has been named Interim Director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services following Demosky’s termination.
In a letter posted to the Department of Job and Family Services, Wiens wrote that the department will work to rebuild trust in the community.
Demosky will return to court June 16 for the final pre-trial hearing before the trial, which is set to begin Aug. 17.
