LISBON - The director of a Columbiana County organization has been indicted for an alleged fraud scheme.

According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, 52-year-old Amanda Kiger, the director of East Liverpool-based non-profit River Valley Organizing, is facing felony charges of aggravated theft and telecommunications fraud.

In a separate indictment, the organization itself is also charged, but the attorney general's office says only Kiger was allegedly involved in any wrongdoing, not any other member. 

The charges stem from the alleged theft of at least $150,000 worth of charitable donations.

River Valley Organizing was founded in 2020 and describes itself as a citizen-based group advocating for various social and environmental causes, aiming to make Ohio's River Valley safer and cleaner.

The AG's Office alleges that between 2021 and 2024, Kiger pocketed charitable donations for personal use while serving as the organization's director.

Additionally, Kiger is accused of fraudulently obtaining $17,346 in unemployment benefits and failing to file state income tax returns for four years in a row, netting her additional charges of telecommunications fraud, grand theft, falsification in a theft offense and filing incomplete, false and fraudulent returns.

Former employee Jamie Nentwick described her time with Kiger as extremely hostile. Claiming there “were also times when pay was withheld and we were told the organization was broke, while I believed funds were being taken or misused.”

Daniel Winston, the former co-executive director who left the organization in 2023 believes Kiger worked alone in her alleged theft.

"I’m hoping that these series of events that are happening with the founder do not overshadow the canvases that the community organizers did for the Ohio River Valley," Winston said in a statement. "There was great work that was done...[we helped] hundreds of thousands of people. That work should not be diminished by what one person is accused of."

River Valley shut down around the beginning of 2025. 

Some of the former employees are now volunteers for a new organization Impact Appalachia, which does not receive funding to the scale that River Valley did, but continues to bring change to communities in need.

Court records do not show arraignment information for Kiger at this time.

Full statement from Jamie Nentwick: 

"In the winter of 2023, I personally reported Amanda Kiger to the Ohio State Attorney General because I believed there was serious misconduct happening within the nonprofit where I worked. I began noticing patterns that concerned me deeply, including excessive vacations and long absences that seemed outside the scope of our organization's work and responsibilities.

At one point she brought me to a meeting with a woman where there was a lengthy discussion about tax matters that raised serious red flags for me. The language being used sounded, in my view, like it could involve fraudulent tax practices. As someone committed to the mission of our nonprofit and the trust of our funders, I felt I had a duty to report what I believed could be misuse of funds.

Our organization existed to serve a community that has historically been harmed by outside companies and corporations that polluted our area and treated it like a dumping ground. The funding we received was meant to help people here, and I believed it was my responsibility to protect that mission.

As time went on, I watched other employees slowly lose their jobs as the situation inside the organization worsened. It didn't matter if someone held an equal position or rank within the organization—people were still fired. The workplace environment was extremely hostile. Employees were frequently threatened with being fired if they said anything she didn't like. She would go on power trips and say things like, "I'll just fire your [explicit]." She rarely showed up to the office and often used intimidation toward staff.

Despite reporting the situation, I remained employed because the work I was doing for my community mattered deeply to me. I endured the hostility and abuse because I believed the mission was bigger than my personal comfort. There were also times when pay was withheld and we were told the organization was broke, while I believed funds were being taken or misused.

I was ultimately fired while I was on an educational trip with my children in Washington, D.C. That moment was devastating after everything I had endured while trying to continue serving my community.

In the end, the experience broke me emotionally and professionally. The abuse and the stress of the situation have made it very difficult for me to continue working in the field I once dedicated myself to. I stayed as long as I did because I was committed to serving my community and protecting the resources meant to help it."