MANSFIELD — A former Crestline Fire Department chief will spend two months in the Richland County Jail.
Matthew Wells on Monday was sentenced to 60 days in jail after he pleaded guilty in June to two criminal counts related to working full-time jobs for multiple public agencies simultaneously.
Richland County Common Pleas Judge Phil Naumoff also ordered Wells to pay $26,384 in restitution and audit costs. The judge said Wells will serve four years of probation and is also barred from serving in public-sector employment.
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s office said Wells, through a plea bargain, admitted to single felony counts of tampering with records and theft in office.
The crimes were uncovered during an investigation by the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which received a complaint Wells was being paid by two public entities for the same hours worked.
At times, Wells either claimed work hours for two agencies or used paid leave, including sick leave, from one while working for another, according to the auditor.
Tampering with records is a third-degree felony and theft in office is a fourth degree felony.
In exchange for his plea, the state dismissed a second count of theft in office, nine counts of tampering with records and one count of telecommunications fraud.
The auditor’s SIU determined Wells was employed by the Ohio Department of Education, the Springfield Township Fire Department in Richland County and the Pleasant Township Fire Department in Marion County and claimed the same work hours for two agencies.
The state initiated an investigation on Jan. 20, 2022. The original date ranges for the allegations were between Oct. 25, 2016, and July 30, 2021.
In October, Wells was indicted on charges of theft in office, two counts of grand theft and a misdemeanor count of representation by a public official or employee.
He was re-indicted on the current charges in April and the previous case was dismissed.
Since 2019, the state auditor’s Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 121 convictions resulting in more than $8.3 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).
