River Valley Organizing founder Amanda Kiger appears for arraignment Thursday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court on behalf of herself and the nonprofit for aggravated theft and telecommunications fraud. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — Not guilty pleas were entered during arraignment Thursday for Amanda M. Kiger and River Valley Organizing, the nonprofit she founded, for allegedly stealing at least $150,000 or more in charitable donations for personal use over a four-year period.

Kiger, 52, Westfield Road, East Liverpool, and River Valley Organizing were each criminally charged, with defense attorney T. Robert Bricker appointed to represent both. Kiger’s recognizance bond of $100,000 was continued. A recognizance bond of $10,000 was set for River Valley Organizing by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton, who handled the arraignments. Kiger told the judge the organization had not been solvent since 2024.

Both cases have been assigned to Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam, with no pretrial date set as of Thursday. During arraignment, the state was represented by Associate Assistant Attorney General H. Lee Crumrine.

Kiger was indicted recently for multiple charges related to theft as executive director of the organization and related to her alleged theft of unemployment benefits and failure to file state income tax returns during that same period.

The charges against Kiger include third-degree felony aggravated theft, second-degree felony telecommunications fraud, four counts of fifth-degree felony filing incomplete, false and fraudulent returns, fourth-degree felonies of grand theft and falsification in a theft offense and third-degree felony telecommunications fraud.

The indictment against River Valley Organizing, in care of Kiger, Walnut Street, East Liverpool, included one count of aggravated theft, a third-degree felony, and one count of telecommunications fraud, a second-degree felony.

When asked about charging an organization for criminal charges, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General said he couldn’t talk about the specifics of this particular case, but said it’s been done before in other cases, pointing out that a judge could order restitution in this type of case against an organization.

According to the indictments, the thefts occurred from Feb. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2024, and Kiger solicited and accepted contributions of funds from various donors to River Valley Organizing for charitable purposes and “misused such funds for personal purposes and her own financial benefit.” The amount was listed from $150,000 to less than $750,000.

The charge for telecommunications fraud said she misused the funds for personal purposes and her own financial benefit “through a series of financial transactions and transfers completed via telecommunications networks.” The value of the benefit obtained was listed as $150,000 or more but less than $1 million.

Regarding the other charges against Kiger, she allegedly obtained $17,346 in unemployment benefits from the state by making false statements to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in her application and claims for unemployment benefits from April 2, 2021 through May 12, 2022. She allegedly failed to file annual state income tax returns in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the indictments when they first came out, with a press release saying River Valley Organizing was incorporated in 2020 and “describes itself as a citizen-based group working for a ‘safer and cleaner Ohio River Valley,’ advocating on various social and environmental issues.”

Yost’s Charitable Law Section investigated the case and is prosecuting it.

mgreier@mojonews.com