Former Ohio Workers’ Comp Official Accused of Taking Gifts

July 5, 2007

A former member of the oversight commission for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation was charged with ethics violations accusing him of accepting inappropriate meals, flights and other gifts.

The charges, which allege George Forbes took the gifts from two investment marketers linked to companies doing or seeking business from the state insurance fund for injured workers. The allegations are the latest in a string of criminal cases that have resulted from a scandal uncovered two years ago following more than $300 million in lost investments at the agency.

Forbes, president of the Cleveland NAACP and a longtime figure in state Democratic politics, has agreed to plead guilty to some of the six charges and no contest to others at an arraignment last week, his attorney James Wooley said. He declined further comment.

Forbes accepted entertainment and other items of value from the two investment marketers from October 1997 through November 2003, the Ohio Ethics Commission said in a news release. Each charge is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Topics Workers' Compensation Ohio

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Latest Comments

  • July 6, 2007 at 8:20 am
    Anon says:
    Shhh... we don't like to admit to government corruption or inneptitude around here unless it can be tied to Bush, Haliburton or some insurance company's handling of Katrina. T... read more
  • July 5, 2007 at 4:50 am
    Ya Know says:
    I missed the NAACP reference the first go 'round, just focused in on him being a member of the Oversight Commission that is supposed to watch out for this stuff. It's politici... read more
  • July 5, 2007 at 2:45 am
    W says:
    Where are all of our liberal friends that like to believe corruption only exists in the Republican party? Is everyone quiet because this guy was a leader in the NAACP?

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