Eastern Gateway Community College President, Dr. John Crooks, emailed a letter to staff and faculty stating that a search by local, state, and federal authorities came "without warning" at the offices of Eastern Gateway Community College’s main office in Steubenville on Thursday.

The text of the letter reads as follows:

Dear Esteemed Faculty & Staff,

Today, without advance warning, the State Auditor of Ohio’s office, joined by U.S. Secret Service agents, representatives of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants at Eastern Gateway.

We are cooperating fully with all agencies involved just as we have been open and transparent in our ongoing discussions with the U.S. Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

We want to also be open and transparent with you as we learn more, and we will do everything we can to keep you informed. We thank you for your commitment to the students and the communities that Eastern Gateway serves.

Warm regards,

Dr. John Crooks, Interim President
Eastern Gateway Community College

 

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber revealed in a news release that members of the state Special Investigations Unit, along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Computer Crimes Unit, the U.S. Secret Service, the Columbus Division of Police’s Digital Forensics Unit, and the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, executed the search warrant

 

 Stating that the search was related to ongoing investigations concerning the college, the release said the search was separate from the August indictments of former college administrators, Jimmie Bruce, former EGCC president, and James Miller, former vice president/chief of staff, who were accused of using college credit cards for purchases not related to the operations of the school.

Faber said on camera that the search is part of an investigation into matters that have already been charged and are being prosecuted by a special prosecutor and other concerns about financial irregularities at the college. Faber did not elaborate further.

The indictments handed up last summer charged Bruce and Miller with felony counts of grand theft, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, having an unlawful interest in a public contract, and misuse of credit cards, plus misdemeanor counts of misuse of credit cards and having an unlawful interest in a public contract.

An investigation by the SIU identified 205 credit card transactions totaling more than $28,757 that were not related to the operations of the college.

Bruce and Miller were placed on administrative leave in January 2020 and subsequently fired.

Eastern Gateway, which also has a campus in Youngstown, has faced other problems as the Higher Learning Commission has the college on probation for being out of compliance with the criteria for accreditation.

In addition, EGCC reported a major dip in enrollment late last year that officials attribute to the loss of a free tuition program.

In November, faculty members issued a no-confidence vote against the interim president and others.

Late last month the college issued a statement saying it has taken steps to address academic and financial issues raised by higher education agencies.

The university hired Dr. Mike Sherman who agreed to serve as Eastern Gateway's "Executive on Loan."

Dr. Sherman will report to the Eastern Gateway Board of Trustees and will oversee an immediate assessment of the college's internal operations. He will then create an action plan to address the most important issues needed to help the school.

The goal of the college is to update the processes and procedures to get Pell Grant reimbursements from the U.S. Department of Education quickly.

Dr. John Crooks will also continue to lead Eastern Gateway as Interim President while focusing on things identified by the Higher Learning Commission to maintain the college's accreditation status.

College officials say they have satisfactorily addressed six of the seven items identified by the Higher Learning Commission.