COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced an agreement on Wednesday with the board of the Union Club Inc. and the Union Club of Springfield to resolve allegations of charitable gaming law violations.
DeWine's Charitable Law section alleged that the Union Club was paying its bingo workers and electronic gaming machines were present in its facility, which are violations of the state's charitable gaming laws. The machines were found to be slot machines that paid out in cash.
The board of directors also allegedly failed to keep minutes involving large expenditures, refused to share financial information with some members, paid employees with cash, failed to follow the by-laws of the organization and refused to file tax forms for employees.
"This appears to be a case where the board's failures were not intentional," DeWine said. "However, we expect state law to be followed."
Under the terms of an assurance of discontinuance, the Union Club and the Union Club of Springfield will create two separate governing boards, the two boards will be replaced in elections on February 19, and the two organizations will send their newly elected officers and trustees to bingo school and board governance training.
Additionally, as part of the agreement, the organizations will remove all electronic gaming machines from the premises, Union Club Inc. will suspend bingo activity between Feb. 15 and Feb. 24, and the organizations will not pay employees in cash and will submit all necessary tax forms.
Within 90 days of the agreement, the organizations will pick an accounting firm to conduct an independent audit and no current or former board members will be eligible to serve on either charitable organization's board.
Ohio AG settles with Union Club of Springfield
