A charter school business manager must repay the nearly $500,000 she stole from a Hilltop charter school, according to the Ohio Auditor of State.
Michelle Scott, former business manager for Westside Academny, a charter school in Columbus' Hilltop area, misappropriated over $480,100 from the school over four and a half years while working there, according to a finding for recovery issued by the Ohio Auditor of State,
A finding for recovery is issued by the state auditor when public funds have been misspent, or property has been misappropriated.
Scott was indicted in Franklin County in April 2025 on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft in office, and tampering with records. In March 2026, she pleaded guilty to a second-degree
felony charge.
A Franklin County Common Pleas judge sentenced Scott to a minimum of four years up to a maximum of six years in prison, followed by three years probation, and ordered a restitution of $363,384.44.
Heather O'Bannon, director of Westside Academy, said Scott "betrayed the trust placed in her."
O'Bannon said that she was grateful to the Ohio Auditor for uncovering how Scott was "causing significant harm to our school and depriving our students of valuable educational resources."
"We remain committed to strengthening financial accountability, recovering the funds taken, and maintaining the trust of our students, families, and community," O'Bannon said.
After O'Bannon reported the suspected theft to the auditor's office, the agency's special investigations unit began a criminal investigation against Scott, according to the audit. The investigation found more than $480,000 in misappropriated funds from Westside Academy and that resulted in the charges against Scott.
Scott resigned in September 2022 from her position at West Side Academy, a charter school sponsored by the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation.
The state auditor's investigation began in March 2023, after the Westside Academy filed a civil lawsuit against Scott, who had been hired as business manager by the school in 2012. The lawsuit alleged that that she fabricated purchase orders for a vendor for services not rendered and processed multiple payments totaling $162,000 into a bank account she owned.
State auditor investigators confirmed the allegations and found additional fraudulent vendors, employee expense and tuition reimbursements, and credit card transactions.
According to the audit, Scott made false payments to vendors and changed the routing numbers to bank accounts she controlled, and was fraudulently overpaid for tuition reimbursement. The investigation also found more than $53,000 in credit card charges unrelated to the school, including Apple products, Amazon purchases, craft stores, a personal office space and 66 days at a hotel room at the Columbus Convention Center.
The state audit noted that the theft was "enabled by inadequate internal controls and insufficient management oversight."
"Scott used Academy funds to purchase goods and services for her personal benefit and created false documents, including fictitious purchase orders and altered credit card statements," the audit said.
The findings for recovery also recommended Westside Academy management address its fixed asset and inventory controls, tuition reimbursement policies, travel and procurement practices, credit card and commercial charge account oversight, governance oversight shortcomings, records retention, and segregation of duties.
Under a finding for recovery, the legal counsel for a public office is authorized to collect the public money due within 120 days. The state auditor is also required to notify the Ohio Attorney General of every finding for recovery. If, after 120 days, the legal counsel for the public office has not initiated legal action to recover the public money due, the Ohio Attorney General can seek recovery of the money.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: State seeking repayment of nearly $500k stolen from Columbus charter school
