(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost marked the completion of his first 100 days in office, citing a number of early accomplishments that share a common focus: protecting the unprotected. From the first steps to reclaim dollars for injured workers, to assisting consumers, local law enforcement and survivors of human trafficking, AG Yost and his office are stepping forward to help when Ohioans need added resources or expertise.
.jpg.aspx "Jan16_2019-(2).jpg")
Jan. 16, 2019: The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science grand opening is held at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). The facility provides educational programs for BGSU students, forensic scientists, crime scene investigators and other law enforcement practitioners, a collaboration between BGSU and the attorney general’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
Feb. 7, 2019: Yost joins Pike County leaders and state legislators to discuss financial support the attorney general called for to help the county address costs of prosecution and defense in connection with the Rhoden family homicides.
Feb. 8, 2019: Ross County Sheriff George W. Lavender Jr. with Yost at one of the scenes involved in a triple homicide. Crime scene investigators and leaders from BCI were on-scene to assist Lavender’s office with the case within hours of the victims being found.
Feb. 13, 2019: Teamwork between BCI and local investigators connected a decades-old rape case to several unsolved homicides. Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson, local law enforcement and Yost discuss the indictment of a man believed to be responsible.
Feb. 14, 2019: Charges including involuntary manslaughter are announced in a Columbus case that Yost’s office is prosecuting against employees of a local nursing facility.
Feb. 19, 2019: Yost speaks with reporters about a letter sent to pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx – the first step the process to collect nearly $16 million in overcharges to the Bureau of Workers Compensation.
Feb. 28, 2019: At the 10
th Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Ohio Statehouse, Yost announces new grants to help survivors of human trafficking transform “brand” tattoos that once marked them as the property of a predator.
March 7, 2019: Three Ohio high school students, winners of the attorney general’s Take Action Video Contest, meet Yost at his office. The students’ videos focused on consumer protection topics.
March 12, 2019: Yost announces the formation of a new Office of Professional Integrity, calling for pro-active, regular, uniform reviews of the work and external relationships of the hundreds of lawyers at the attorney general’s office.
March 15, 2019: Yost’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OCIC), the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and Liberty Township Police Chief Toby Meloro announce the arrests of eight men in an undercover operation targeting human trafficking predators.
March 22, 2019: Nationwide Arena welcomed Yost’s staff to post information about the National Human Trafficking Hotline around the venue as two days of first- and second-round men’s college basketball tournament games began there.
(mandatory photo credit: Chuck Kennedy for Axios)
April 3, 2019: Speaking with Washington, D.C.-based news organization Axios, Yost discusses his brief filed to help protect people with pre-existing medical conditions, urging the reversal of a court decision that found the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional.
April 22, 2019: Capping his first 100 days in office, Yost recommends legislative action that could bring greater transparency to dealings with pharmacy benefit managers and the cost of prescription drugs.
More information on the attorney general’s actions and initiatives can be found online.
MEDIA CONTACT:
David O'Neil: 614-728-6069
–30–