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Ohio inspector general details fraud probe workload, seeks level funding for biennium
Summary
Inspector General Randall Meyer told the Government Oversight and Reform Committee that his 17‑person office has focused recent resources on investigating pandemic unemployment fraud, has identified hundreds of millions in losses over his tenure, and is requesting level appropriations to maintain current staffing and oversight.
Inspector General Randall Meyer told the Government Oversight and Reform Committee on the state operating budget that the Office of the Inspector General needs steady funding to keep investigating fraud, waste and abuse across the executive branch.
Meyer testified that the office — which he said has jurisdiction over the governor, executive staff, state agencies, boards, commissions, state universities and medical colleges — is staffed by 17 professionals and that more than 80% of the office’s budget is payroll. He said the office has released more than 790 reports of investigation, issued 1,614 recommendations to agencies and “identified over a quarter‑billion dollars lost to the state of Ohio” during his tenure.
Meyer said the inspector general’s office focused substantial staff resources on alleged fraud in pandemic‑era unemployment benefits handled by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). After ODJFS disbursed what Meyer described as roughly $7.6 billion in pandemic unemployment benefits in fiscal 2021, ODJFS later identified nearly $500 million of those disbursements as fraudulent. Meyer told the committee his office opened dozens of related investigations and completed reports identifying millions in losses and criminal charges.
Meyer described investigative activities that included subpoenas, forensic analysis, interviews, search‑warrant support and collaboration with state and federal partners and local prosecutors. He told senators that, in the most recent period he cited, five completed cases identified roughly $13.3 million in losses; elsewhere he said 14 reports related to pandemic unemployment abuses identified about $20.5 million in losses and 95 criminal charges.
The inspector general said the office’s funding comes from three sources — the General Revenue Fund and two transfers (one from the Ohio Department of Transportation and one from the Bureau of Workers' Compensation/Industrial Commission) — and that the office “manages its budget conservatively.” He told the committee the requested appropriation for the 2026–2027 biennium is sufficient to maintain current staff and oversight capacity.
Vice Chair Brenner asked whether the office uses artificial intelligence tools in forensic analysis; Meyer replied the office is not currently using AI but is exploring options with outside vendors such as KPMG and Deloitte and noted the office’s small staff cannot currently deploy AI without contracting for services.
Meyer closed by saying the office’s statutory responsibilities are critical to ensuring ethical conduct in state government and offered to answer follow‑up questions.
Meyer’s full testimony and the committee’s minutes include additional detail on staffing, revenue sources and the investigative work that the office says underpins its budget request.
