Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
A corporation created by Wright State University to serve the school’s research institute illegally paid a former consultant more than $1.3 million, a report issued today by the Ohio Auditor of State shows.
The Wright State Applied Research Corporation processed and approved 18 invoices for consulting services provided by Ron Wine Consulting Group, LLC from October 2013 to January 2015, according to the auditor’s report.
WSARC made the payments despite not having a consulting agreement in place to define the scope of the services the corporation was paying for. The invoices submitted by Ron Wine Consulting also “lacked supporting documentation detailing the work performed,” the report states.
The Dayton Daily News originally revealed Wine’s questionable dealings with Wright State in 2015. Our reporting brought to the auditors’ and the public’s attention the fact Wine was invoicing Wright State for millions of dollars despite a lack of written contracts and loose oversight of Wine’s firm by WSU officials.
The state auditor also found that three former employees and one current employee of WSARC are liable for the improper payments to Ron Wine Consulting Group.
Dennis Andersh, current chief executive officer of WSARC and executive director of the Wright State Research Institute, is liable for up to $942,700, according to the report.
Former provost Sundaram Narayanan and former WSARC CEO Ryan Fendly are each liable for up to nearly $1.2 million. Former WSARC chief financial officer Keith Ralston is liable for up to $216,448, according to the auditor’s report.
