Ohio Inspector General Investigation Finds Companies Colluded to Improperly Receive Ohio Department of Development Grant Monies Contrary to Program Guidelines

In 2024, the Office of the Ohio Inspector General released Report of Investigation 2023-CA00004 involving BridgePort Digital Group, an online information technology training provider, and multiple companies who had obtained IT training for their employees. The investigation found that the companies had received improper monetary reimbursements from the Ohio Department of Development (ODEV) TechCred Grant Program. TechCred is a program administered by ODEV that gives employers the chance to upskill current and future employees who complete eligible technology-focused credentials. Employers who submit successful applications to the program are eligible to be reimbursed up to $2,000 per W-2 employee who completes an approved training. During this investigation, investigators learned that Bronzeville IT Academy (BIA), a company that received training from BridgePort Digital Group and ultimately received improper monetary reimbursements from the TechCred Grant Program, was listed as a provider of IT training services for five companies (CTD Entertainment Management, LLC; Head to Head Outreach, Inc.; Naturally Cynthia LLC; Rayal Transportation LLC; and Reece Investigations and Security Consultants, LLC) who received TechCred reimbursements.

On May 28, 2025, a new investigation was initiated by the Office of the Ohio Inspector General to evaluate whether the "proof of payment" documentation the five companies submitted to ODEV for reimbursements actually matched the payment amounts issued by these companies to BIA for employee trainings. Investigators subpoenaed and evaluated the five companies' bank records to determine whether the BIA invoices the companies submitted to ODEV for reimbursement of their employees' trainings were legitimate. From their review of these records, investigators discovered that the BIA's invoices and the five companies' corresponding checks submitted to ODEV for reimbursements did not reflect actual payments made to BIA for their training. The investigation found that the TechCred reimbursements were split between BIA and the five companies. In addition, two of the company owners involved in the scheme admitted to investigators that they either did not have any employees or did not recognize the names of the employees who were submitted to ODEV for TechCred reimbursement for BIA trainings.

This report of investigation is being referred to the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office and the Ohio Auditor of State for consideration.

Ohio Inspector General Report of Investigation file number 2025-CA00007 is now available.