(NEWARK, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has filed a lawsuit against the former organizers of a bingo game intended to benefit Excel Academy for illegally paying bingo workers and withholding donations from the school.
“The law requires that all proceeds from bingo games in Ohio must benefit a charitable purpose. By allegedly taking money to pay themselves and other workers, the defendants took money intended to benefit the students of Excel Academy. This lawsuit will seek to recover those funds for the Academy and its students,” said Attorney General DeWine.
The suit filed in Licking County Common Pleas Court alleges that Thomas Jacob of Newark, David Jacob of Frazeysburg, and Marlene Jacob of Newark diverted bingo proceeds to bingo workers at the expense of Excel Academy. According to Ohio law, it is illegal to pay workers to work a bingo game, and all bingo proceeds must benefit the organizing organization’s charitable purpose. The suit also alleges that the defendants falsified records and filings to conceal the payments from the Academy and state regulators.
Counts in the lawsuit include Breach of Fiduciary Duties, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Falsification, Reformation of a Charitable Trust, Negligence, Deceptive Acts and Practices, Misrepresentation, Failure to Maintain Records, Nuisance, and Filing False and Misleading Information.
The suit seeks restitution, compensatory, and punitive damages from the defendants. The suit also seeks to prohibit the defendants from soliciting on behalf of any charitable organization in Ohio.
A copy of the lawsuit is available on the Ohio Attorney General’s Website.
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Documents
Copy of lawsuit filed against Marlene Jacob, Thomas Jacob, and David Jacob (PDF)
Media Contacts
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-3840
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840