A Montgomery man is in trouble with his boss and the State of Ohio.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters on Wednesday announced the indictment of Walter Sullivan in the investigation regarding fraudulent absentee ballot applications.
Sullivan, 27, has been charged with five counts of false signatures for forging applications for absentee ballots. He worked for Field Works, a consulting group that provides ground level organization for Ohio Jobs and Growth. Ohio Jobs and Growth is the organization backing Issue 3 in Hamilton County.
Sullivan is accused of forging the applications between September 29 and October 1 and sending them to the Hamilton County Board of Elections in an attempt to secure absentee ballots.
Officials say the investigation began when employees at the Board of Elections noticed irregularities when processing applications. They contacted some of the voters whose signatures were on the applications. Those voters confirmed that they had not requested a ballot or directed anyone else to do so on their behalf.
Prosecutor Deters commented, “Our investigation at no time found any evidence that Ohio Jobs and Growth was involved or aware of criminal activity. They at all times acted cooperatively with the investigation. Any representation that they were the target of a grand jury investigation is entirely false,” said Deters.
Deters does not believe Sullivan was trying to stuff the ballot box.
If convicted of all the charges, Sullivan faces five years in prison.
