Special Audit Details Investigation into Former Franklin County Employee Convicted in Theft of Disability Benefit Payments

Press Release • Ohio Auditor of State

COLUMBUS - A special audit released Thursday details the criminal investigation into a former Franklin County employee who was convicted of falsifying documents to illegally receive disability payments from a state pension system.

The report includes a finding for recovery of $257,036, the same amount of restitution ordered against Jonathan McPheters after receiving the improper benefits payments for more than six years.

The full report is available online at ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx.

The Auditor of State's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) launched an investigation into McPheters after receiving a complaint from the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

McPheters worked for 17 years as a bus driver for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. He was involved in an on-duty vehicle accident in 2007 that resulted in an injury and ongoing disability benefit payments through the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), beginning in April 2009.

Investigators determined that McPheters submitted forged documents in 2018, 2021 and 2024 to maintain the benefits payments, resulting in 77 fraudulent payments between May 1, 2018, and Sept. 1, 2024.

McPheters was indicted in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in October 2025 and pleaded guilty in February 2026 to felony counts of aggravated theft and tampering with records.

He was ordered to pay restitution and sentenced to 60 months of community control.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 166 convictions resulting in more than $17.9 million in restitution (see?Map of SIU Convictions?since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU's fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

###

The Auditor of State's Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
[email protected]