A judge has granted Attorney General Mike DeWine permission to carry forward with his lawsuit against ECOT leaders and the companies owned by its founder. The attorney general is taking a few different routes to get back millions of dollars in public funding that went to the now-defunct online school.
DeWine claims that ECOT founder Bill Lager, as well as two companies he owns and a handful of school officials, are liable for the $60 million the school still owes the state in a claw back for students the school didn’t have.
The lawsuit is also going after any personal profit Lager made when ECOT contracted with the two companies, IQ Innovations and Altair Learning Management, he owned.
DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney says there’s a sense of urgency with this lawsuit.
“This is us trying to be as aggressive as possible to collect public funds that can ultimately be returned to taxpayers while they still exist,” Tierney said.
DeWine has been criticized for not going after ECOT years ago when the conflict between Lager and his companies started. But DeWine’s office says they’ve had to work within their jurisdiction.
