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LISBON -- The criminal case against Amanda M. Kiger and River Valley Organizing for allegedly stealing charitable donations for personal use remains unresolved.
During a hearing last week before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam, a new status hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10. A jury trial remains set for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 13.
According to the judgment entry written by Washam, there was no resolution of the case at that time. He noted that counsel for the defense, attorney T. Robert Bricker, was reviewing the state's discovery or evidence, which was described as voluminous. At the hearing before that, Bricker had talked about the discovery consisting of more than 800 folders on a flash drive.
The state was represented by Associate Assistant Attorney General H. Lee Crumrine, who works for the Ohio Attorney General's office. Kiger remains out of jail on a $100,000 recognizance bond.
She was indicted for multiple charges related to theft as executive director of River Valley Organizing and related to her alleged theft of unemployment benefits and failure to file state income tax returns during the 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, included one count of aggravated theft, a third-degree felony, and one count of telecommunications fraud, a second-degree felony.
According to the indictments, the thefts occurred from Feb. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2024, when 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.