Ohio lawmakers pushing for more tools to find taxpayer fraud

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(The Center Square) – A pair of bills introduced recently in the Ohio Legislature would give the state’s Inspector General authority to subpoena electronic records in fraud investigations in an effort to reduce the theft of taxpayer funds.

Currently, inspector general investigators are not authorized to directly petition courts for electronic search warrants, Inspector General Randall Meyer said at a news conference.

“Since my appointment in 2011, I have observed first-hand the fundamental changes to how criminals communicate and coordinate their fraudulent activity,” Meyer said. “Traditional hard-copy records have evolved into cloud storage and reliance on electronic devices. Evidence from these sources is needed for investigators to conduct their investigations efficiently.”

Giving the inspector general power to subpoena electronic records would allow investigators to obtain evidence from social media, email and text messages, Meyer said.

Text messages can reveal the names of the people involved in the fraud schemes, their roles in the scheme and the payments they will receive, he said.

That information can lead to physical search warrants with the help of traditional law enforcement agencies, the inspector general said.

He cited one fraud investigation that resulted in the seizure of more than $900,000 in cash and a $250,000 Lamborghini.

“Numerous investigations conducted by the office during the past five years have increasingly necessitated electronic search warrants,” Meyer said.

He cited “egregious levels of fraud” in unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It involved millions of tax dollars and were uncovered primarily through electronic devices obtained through search warrants,

The inspector general investigators had to rely on other law enforcement agencies to obtain the warrants, Meyer said. The investigations identified $30.5 million in lost state funds and 166 criminal charges and 50 people indicted.

“Simply put, the successful outcome of these cases was due to the irrefutable evidence gathered from electronic search warrants,” Meyer said.

Giving the Inspector General’s office authority to directly request search warrants from the courts would make fraud investigations more efficient and effective, he added.