Federal audit flags $20.9 million misuse, threatens Ohio manufacturing aid program

An audit released by the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General criticizes Ohio’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership for poor oversight of $20.9 million in federal funds received from 2017 to 2024. The review documents waste, unauthorized expenditures and conflicts of interest involving board members of six regional affiliates, including the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network in Cleveland and Ohio State University South Centers in Piketon.

It recommends that the National Institute of Standards and Technology consider permanently ending Ohio’s funding and attempt to recover the money. Following the audit’s preliminary findings, the federal government paused the program in December, prompting complaints from elected officials and leading several affiliates to scale back or close. Ohio’s Department of Development says it has zero tolerance for fraud and is working with NIST to address the findings. MAGNET’s CEO Ethan Karp disputes the audit, calling parts of it inaccurate, while the organization claims its PPE sales during the pandemic were done at Governor Mike DeWine’s request and generated no profit.