Earlier in September, 21 News reported on Bazetta Township losing over $100,000 in funds for Bazetta Township ended up in a fraudulent bank account after a hacking incident.

Now, Bazetta Township Trustee Chair Michael Hovis is coming to Trumbull County Commissioners asking for help in getting that money back expressing frustration with Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder.

"We don't get any exchange between us and the Auditor's Office. I have asked [Yoder] who her legal representative is and she refuses to answer," Hovis said.

Hovis further claimed that the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office could not represent Yoder because of a criminal case that could possibly come out of this situation stating there would be a conflict of interest.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko said the incident appeared to be a phishing scam and said employees at the auditor's office should be trained to catch and avoid those scams.

However, Commissioner Denny Malloy said the township's email had been hacked and the incident is being investigated by the FBI.

The meeting got heated when Auditor Yoder joined via phone and joined Malloy in saying this was not a phish, but a hack adding that employees at the auditor's office are trained to catch and avoid phishing scams.

"The employee that answered that [email] and dealt with it has passed every single phishing test," Yoder said.

Yoder also became defensive regarding Hovis's point about her not communicating with him saying she won't answer or speak to him because she has not yet secured an attorney, which she needs because the Prosecutor's Office can't represent both her and the township.

She further told Hovis that the reasoning he gave for why the Prosecutor's Office couldn't represent her was wrong.

"The reason the prosecutor cannot represent me is not because of the possible criminal case, but because he represents statutorily Bazetta Township and me," Yoder said.

Commissioner Frenchko pointed out the possibility that both Yoder's and Hovis's reasonings could be correct.

"We don't know because you haven't shared anything with us," Frenchko said.

Hovis said that the missing funds were transferred to Green Dot Bank, which is an online bank. Hovis claims the Ohio Revised Code prohibits local government entities to do banking with an online bank.

However, when Yoder was pressed about this, she said she does not know the Ohio Revised Code well enough to know if that's allowed, but she believes it is.

"As far as I know when I read the Ohio Revised Code that was cited in that letter, there is no mention of that. The bank must be a bank that's recognized as a bank and it must be recognized or located within the United States. Both of those are true for this bank," Yoder said.

Yoder then accused Hovis of planning to sue her, but Hovis fired back.

"Nowhere does the word sue get mentioned in any email, letter or [by] me here today. We just want our money. Simple as that. We're a victim [and] we're being victimized further," Hovis said.

Commissioner Frenchko called for a motion to ask the Prosecutor's Office for guidance on any allowable funds that could be used to pay Bazetta back. However, this motion did not pass with Commissioners Malloy along with Mauro Cantalamessa voting against it.

21 News reached out to Yoder for further comment and were provided with the following statement:

"On September 3, 2024 my office became aware of irregularities with emails received by my office from the fiscal officer of Bazetta township.  Since that time the matter has been under investigation by both the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI." 

"My office and staff have been fully cooperative in that investigation.  I have been working to find counsel to assist my office in this matter, and follow the legal process to set up representation. Given that there is still a pending investigation, and that I have received what can best be described as communication that is both hostile and inaccurate from the township’s attorney; I have felt it best to wait until after my office has followed the steps required to obtain legal counsel, to have any communication with the township, and until today, not to do so publicly with the Commissioners."

"Please note that I am a separate elected official, and the commissioners do not oversee me."
 

 

You can learn about what led to these funds being lost in our related coverage below.

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