Former Ohio State University President Ted Carter, who has been silent since his fall from grace in March, is now denying allegations leveled against him in a recent lawsuit.
Carter's attorneys responded to a legal complaint filed by the app developer involved in the university scandal that ultimately led to Carter's resignation. Vet Mentor AI – the Maryland-based tech company that developed an app to help veterans access benefits, education and employment opportunities – claimed that the former president and others blackballed the company and later sought to recreate its technology without it.
Vet Mentor AI sued Carter; Krisanthe Vlachos, the military-focused podcaster whose relationship with Carter led to his resignation, and her company VetEarnUSA;
economic development corporation JobsOhio; and Ohio State in separate legal complaints filed June 26.
Two months later, Carter is denying those claims. Attorneys Austin Richards and Patrick Kasson with Reminger Co., LPA filed a response on Carter's behalf Aug. 19, requesting that the court dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice and that Carter be awarded costs and attorneys' fees, sanctions and liquidated damages "for the frivolous nature" of the legal action.
In separate responses, Ohio State and JobsOhio also denied Vet Mentor AI's claims. The university argued in its filing that Carter acted outside the scope of his university duties and should not receive the immunity typically afforded state employees.
Vet Mentor AI alleged that Carter, JobsOhio and Vlachos worked together to cut the company out of a proposed statewide veterans services initiative after a dispute over ownership of the app's technology, according to the initial legal complaint filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
After the business relationship with Vet Mentor AI ceased, Carter and Vlachos allegedly worked with Ohio State officials to explore building a platform "mirroring" the company's own technology, according to the complaint.
Richards and Kasson did not respond to The Dispatch's request for comment beyond the filed response in time for publication.
Ohio State asks court to say Carter acted in personal capacity
In a separate but related complaint filed with the Ohio Court of Claims in June, Vet Mentor AI also sued Ohio State over alleged defamation; intentionally interfering with its business relationships; and negligent hiring, supervision and retention.
"OSU acted negligently by failing to perform its due diligence, failing to act on employee reports about [Carter's] relationship with Ms. Vlachos and Mr. Carter's actions, looking the other way and/or siloing adverse information, not following university protocols, and/or minimizing and ignoring Mr. Carter's actions," the company's legal complaint states.
The university's response to those claims signals that Ohio State is distancing itself from Carter and his alleged conduct. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, on behalf of the university, denied Vet Mentor AI's allegations and requested that the court dismiss the complaint "in its entirety at Plaintiff's costs," according to a response filed Aug. 18.
"Mr. Carter was not acting within the course and scope of his employment or official duties, and/or was acting with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner, regarding the matters set forth in the Complaint," the university's response states.
In the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Vet Mentor AI also accused JobsOhio of defamation, claiming the corporation made false statements to business contacts and media outlets that cast doubt on the company's technology despite previously reviewing demonstrations of it and discussing possible funding.
JobsOhio formally answered these claims earlier this month, also requesting that the court dismiss the complaint with prejudice and award the corporation expenses, fees, costs and other relief the court deems fair.
Spokespeople for both JobsOhio and Ohio State said they could not comment on pending litigation.
How is Vet Mentor AI related to Ohio State, Ted Carter?
Vet Mentor AI was founded in December 2024 by now-CEO and Marine Corps veteran Paul Hylenski. The company's lawsuits came after a public dispute between Hylenski and the university that was sparked by Ohio State releasing its investigative report into Carter's relationship with Vlachos.
Carter suddenly resigned March 7 after admitting to an "inappropriate relationship" with "someone seeking public resources to support her personal business," according to a university statement. That individual was later identified as Vlachos. About a month later, Ohio State released a nearly 50-page report chronicling the events that led to Carter's resignation.
The report – which referenced an interview with Hylenski, among dozens of others, and made numerous references to an app Vlachos was pitching that would link veterans transitioning out of the military with employment opportunities – concluded that Carter leveraged his role within Ohio State and his external relationships with university partners to help Vlachos and her app.
Hylenski told The Dispatch in May that the university's report was misleading, inaccurately described his relationship with Carter and Vlachos and damaged his company's reputation. He said the app was never Vlachos' to begin with, and after he cut ties with her, he was blackballed from business relationships with JobsOhio and the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.
This happened after Vlachos attempted to make herself CEO of Hylenski's company, according to emails obtained by The Dispatch. Hylenski said Vlachos threatened that if she was not an owner and CEO, Vet Mentor AI "would lose Ohio."
After Vet Mentor AI rejected Vlachos' demands, Carter allegedly encouraged Ohio State officials to discuss creating a platform that would "mirror" the company's app and help make Ohio State "the most Veteran-friendly university in the U.S.," according to the company's lawsuit.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former OSU President Ted Carter denies legal claims tied to scandal
