About the Charitable Law Section
Charities fulfill a critical role in Ohio, meeting needs that the market and the government cannot or will not. The attorney general has the privilege of being the state officer charged with protecting and regulating the charitable sector, a role which affords him the opportunity to support such a wonderful segment of Ohio’s civil society.
The mission of the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section is “Thriving Charities, Safe Giving.” To fulfill that mission, we must carry out two parallel duties. First, we have a duty to the public to ensure trust in the sector through transparency and accountability. Second, we have a duty to the charitable sector itself to level the playing field for all charities by enforcing consistent standards and holding bad actors accountable.
Day to day, the Charitable Law Section carries out these duties through registration of charities, fundraisers, and professional solicitors, by investigating abuses of charitable trusts, by cooperating with local law enforcement officials to prosecute crimes against charities, by licensing and regulating charitable bingo, by providing tools for the public to research charities and their fundraisers, and by offering resources and training to charitable organizations.
In addition, the Charitable Law Section represents several administrative agencies or divisions that deal mainly with liquor and gambling: the Department of Commerce, Division of Liquor Control; the Department of Public Safety, Ohio Investigative Unit; the Liquor Control Commission; the Casino Control Commission; the Ohio Racing Commission; and the Ohio Lottery Commission.
Who We Are
Daniel W. Fausey
Section Chief
Thaddius A. Townsend
Assistant Section Chief
Section Chief
Office: 614-644-8646
Email:
Daniel.Fausey@OhioAGO.gov
Dan started his career at the Ohio Attorney General's Office as a law student, interning in the Executive Agencies Section. Since then, he has worked in the Charitable Law Section and the Taxation Section, where he served as the assistant section chief. Dan returned to the Charitable Law Section as section chief in 2019.
Dan has also been a deputy solicitor for the State Solicitor's Major Appeals Group. During a break in his employment at the Attorney General's Office, Dan was a law clerk for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and Chief Justice Eric Brown of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Dan's practice involves mainly litigation and appeals, and he has regularly appeared before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, Ohio Common Pleas Courts, Ohio Courts of Appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court. Dan has also taken cases to the Federal District Courts of Ohio, as well as the Sixth and Eighth District Federal Courts of Appeal. Dan previously served as an adjunct professor at the Ohio State's Moritz College of Law, where he taught appellate advocacy.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- State of Ohio
EDUCATION
- Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law, with honors (2005)
- Ohio State University, B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude (2000)
Assistant Section Chief
Office: 614-466-3395
Email:
Thaddius.Townsend@OhioAGO.gov
Thad joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office as an assistant attorney general in 2017 and became assistant section chief in 2022.
Thad’s practice involves both civil and criminal litigation. Since joining the section, he has handled a variety of charitable trust investigations and lawsuits, including cases requiring lengthy discovery and motion practice, complex litigation, and a discovery dispute involving alleged fabrication and spoliation of evidence addressed by digital forensics. He has negotiated a number of settlements and pursued enforcement actions to help recover and protect charitable funds, stop fraudulent activity, and improve nonprofit governance.
Prior to becoming assistant section chief, Thad served as the section’s criminal team lead and he continues to coordinate requests for assistance from other law enforcement agencies. In this role, Thad has provided guidance to the section’s staff who help prosecutors and law enforcement investigate financial crimes, many of which are time consuming and difficult to investigate and prosecute. He may also be appointed as special prosecutor when needed.
Before joining the attorney general's office, Thad worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Clark County Prosecutor's Office and advised local government officials with virtually all aspects of county government. His work there centered on diverse issues including employment law, contract matters, and general litigation. He has also worked for companies that provide legal document review services, including for complex anti-trust matters.
As a law student, Thad worked as a summer associate for a large Columbus law firm. He also interned for a county probate court, at a legal clinic providing no-cost services to indigent clients, and at multiple Ohio nonprofits that advocate for the needs of children and families.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D., summa cum laude (2012)
- Capital University Law Review
- The Ohio State University, B.A., Political Science, cum laude (2007)
Community Outreach
The Charitable Law Section provides many resources to assist nonprofit leaders in understanding their legal obligations. Charitable University is an online learning platform that covers many of the basics of charitable operations. In addition to online training resources, staff are also available to provide presentations about charitable matters.
Director of Charitable Outreach and Education
Office: 614-644-8587
Email:
Beth.Short@OhioAGO.gov
Beth handles outreach and education for the Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section, and has spent her career working for and with nonprofit organizations. Her passion for the nonprofit sector is evidenced by her professional and volunteer background working with charities as a staff member, board member, consultant and volunteer for large and small organizations. She brings a background in journalism, legislative and public affairs and training, complemented by a master’s in business that focused on nonprofit management issues. She is president-elect of the National Association of State Charity Officials. Her work in the Charitable Law Section focuses on the development of strategies aimed at strengthening the nonprofit sector.
EDUCATION
- Ohio University, M.B.A.
- Ohio State University, B.A., Journalism
- Focus on Business and Political Science
Charitable Outreach Coordinator
Office: 614-752-2507
Email:
Lynette.Santoro-Au@OhioAGO.gov
Lynette contributes to outreach and education for the Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section and has spent her career working for and with municipalities and nonprofit organizations. Her passion for creating opportunities, embracing diversity, and cultivating leadership has led her to a career in supporting others in their endeavors. As a board member and community volunteer, she finds this supporting role rewarding on many levels and recognizes how valuable everyone’s roles are to an organization. Knowing how important it is to create an environment of respect, accountability and trust, her work in the Charitable Law Section focuses on the development of strategies aimed at strengthening the nonprofit sector.
EDUCATION
- The Ohio State University, B.S., English
Section Attorneys
Following is a list of the attorneys currently employed in the Charitable Law Section. Click an attorney's name to learn more about him or her.
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-466-7794
Email:
Bret.Baker@OhioAGO.gov
Bret joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office in September 2021. His work focuses on civil investigations and enforcement involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties, charitable fundraising, and gambling.
During law school, Bret served as a legal extern for the Federal Communications Commission, The Ohio State University’s Office of University Compliance & Integrity, and the Supreme Court of Ohio.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D. (2021)
- Executive Articles Editor, Ohio State Law Journal
- The Ohio State University, M.A., Public Policy and Management (2021)
- The Ohio State University, B.S., Political Science & Economics (2017)
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-466-2153
Email:
Kathlena.Broughton@OhioAGO.gov
Kathlena joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in August 2024. She assists the Charitable Law Section in civil investigations and enforcement involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties, charitable fundraising, and gambling.
During law school, Kathlena completed judicial externships in the Ohio Supreme Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kathlena comes to the Attorney General’s Office from a local firm where she advised clients on, among other things, nonprofit corporate governance and compliance and charitable gaming regulations.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2023)
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2023)
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D., summa cum laude (2023)
- Shawnee State University, B.S., Biology, magna cum laude (2020)
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-644-8697
Email:
Rachel.Clark@OhioAGO.gov
Rachel joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s office in March of 2024. She works in the Administrative Law Unit representing the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Rachel previously worked at a Cincinnati based law firm in the Intellectual Property Patent Prosecution section.
While in law school, Rachel served as a law clerk for the Legal Aid Society of Columbus and as a student attorney in Howard’s Reentry clinic.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Howard University School of Law, Washington, DC (2022)
- The Ohio State University, B.A., Biochemistry (2017)
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-466-4462
Email:
Todd.DeBoe@OhioAGO.gov
Todd has been with the Charitable Law Section since 2011. He mostly handles probate litigation involving charitable assets such as the termination or reformation of charitable trusts, will contests and breaches of fiduciary duties. In addition, he handles litigation and notifications involving the release and modification of institutional funds. The charitable trusts and institutional funds range in value from tens of thousands to tens of millions of dollars, and the matters he works on involve many of Ohio's universities, foundations, cultural institutions, religious communities, and hospitals.
Todd's probate expertise is routinely sought out by those practicing in that area. He was a key member of the team Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine created in response to media coverage of court-appointed guardians ignoring their duty and often taking financial advantage of their charges. Todd was on the team that authored the Ohio Guardianship Guide which is routinely shared in probate courts throughout the state and provided to everyone appointed to the role of guardian.
In 2010, Todd worked as a magistrate in the Franklin County Probate Court. In that role he appointed guardians, presided over adoptions, name changes, and matters involving estates.
Todd previously worked in the Environmental Enforcement Section and the Health and Human Services Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office between 1999 and 2010. He represented the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Medicaid program in appeals involving benefit determination, audits of health care providers, matters affecting health care providers' provider agreements, and litigation involving rates paid to providers. In the Environmental Section, he mostly worked on enforcing the water pollution control laws as well as administrative appeals involving National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, permits to install, and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Rules. He also negotiated some consent decrees involving Air Pollution and Solid Waste.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2000)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
EDUCATION
- University of Toledo College of Law, J.D. (1999)
- University of Pennsylvania, B.A., History (1990)
- Minors in Economics and Political Science
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-728-1819
Email:
Liza.Dietrich@OhioAGO.gov
Liza joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General in February 2021. Before joining the attorney general's office, Liza served as a staff attorney for the Ohio Department of Education where she conducted investigations of educator misconduct and negotiated disciplinary settlements. Liza also helped draft the revised Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators, officially adopted by the Ohio State Board of Education in September 2019.
Liza started her legal career as the Outreach Program Coordinator for the Ohio Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic within the University of Cincinnati College of Law that investigates claims of actual innocence and represents wrongfully convicted individuals in actions for post-conviction relief. Liza later served as a staff attorney for the program, supervising investigations and pursing legal remedies on behalf of clients in court.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D. (2013)
- Ohio University, B.A., Philosophy and English (2009)
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-995-5249
Email:
Sophia.Hussain@OhioAGO.gov
Sophia started her career as an attorney in the Ohio Attorney General’s Taxation Section in 2006, where she practiced before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, and argued before the Supreme Court of Ohio and Ohio Court of Appeals on behalf of the Tax Commissioner of Ohio. For the past three years she served as the assistant section chief of the Taxation Section.
Sophia joined the Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section in 2022. She represents the attorney general in civil investigations and enforcement actions involving charitable trusts, charitable solicitation, and Ohio’s charitable gaming laws. She is involved with civil litigation that ensures money donated to charities has been spent on charitable purposes and stops individuals from fraudulently collecting money from the public. Sophia also works in the Administrative Law Unit representing the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, and the Ohio Investigation Unit.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D. (2006)
- Elder Law Journal
- Frederick Douglass Moot Court
- University of Michigan, B.A. (2003)
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-995-5366
Email:
Abigail.Jacobs@OhioAGO.gov
Abby joined the Ohio Attorney General's Office in 2012. She began her work in the Charitable Law Section with a focus on civil investigations and enforcement involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties, gambling, and charitable fundraising. Abby currently focuses her work on nonprofit and hospital transactions and mergers and probate matters and is a leading expert in the section on charitable registration issues and how they intersect with IRS provisions affecting exempt organizations.
She leads the section's five-year rule-review process and coordinates all hearings before the Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review on changes to the Ohio Administrative Code. Abby frequently provides training to charitable organizations about board governance and fiduciary duties and also serves as one of the section's public records attorneys.
Prior to joining the attorney general's office, she worked for a large, national charity that provides advocacy and programming for at-risk children.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2011)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
EDUCATION
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D. (2011)
- Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal
- Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Team
- The College of Wooster, B.A., cum laude, Philosophy (2008)
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-644-8777
Email:
Deana.Leffler@OhioAGO.gov
Deana Leffler joined the Charitable Law Section in March of 2024 where she handles cases involving civil/criminal abuses of charitable trusts and other misuse of charitable assets and breach of fiduciary duties. Prior to that, she was the senior assistant attorney general for the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) in London, Ohio, where she was instrumental in revising and modernizing over 200 training lesson plans used to train peace officers, correction officers/jailers, court officers, etc. She also recorded multiple legal training modules for OPOTA Online, the online training platform for police officers throughout the State of Ohio.
Deana is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Columbus to attend law school at Capital University. She was hired by the Columbus City Attorney’s Office as a trial staff prosecutor and spent five years as a prosecutor before being selected to join the Domestic Violence and Stalking Unit team of prosecutors. After a year with the DVU, she transferred to the Police Legal Advisor section of the city attorney’s office where she served as in-house counsel for the Columbus Division of Police. As the legal advisor, she conducted legal training for all CPD recruits and officers, provided comprehensive legal advice, and represented officers in federal court in 42 USC 1983 cases. After serving in this capacity for almost eight years, she was offered the opportunity to work for the attorney general's office in 2021.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2007)
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2012)
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D. (2007)
- Admitted to Order of Barristers
- Trial Advocacy Excellence in Oratory award 2006, 2007
- DePauw University, B.A., Classical Civilizations and Philosophy (2001)
- Temple University, Rome, Italy (2000)
Associate Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-644-8714
Email:
Megan.Nelson@OhioAGO.gov
Megan joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office in October 2020. She assists the Charitable Law Section in civil investigations and enforcement involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties, charitable fundraising, and gambling.
During law school, Megan served as a legal extern for The Center for Balanced Living, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Ohio Hospital Association. She also clerked for a law firm in Columbus.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D., summa cum laude (2020)
- Editor-in-Chief, Capital University Law Review
- Franklin University, M.H.A. (2016)
- The Ohio State University, B.S., Biochemistry (2015)
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-914-2387
Email:
Andrew.Parra@OhioAGO.gov
Andrew joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in September of 2024 with a focus on civil investigations and enforcements involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties.
Prior to law school, Andrew worked as a Community Intervention Specialist in Franklin Park working with at risk youth. He then attended law school in Bloomington, Indiana. In law school, Andrew was a Pro Bono fellow and worked in a clinic providing direct representation to children in the Indiana Child Welfare system. In the summers, he clerked with the Indiana Department of Child Services and Ohio State Legal Services Association.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Indiana University Maurer School of Law, J.D. (2024)
- Notes and Comments Editor, Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality
- The Ohio State University, B.A., Sociology and Criminology (2019)
Charitable Gaming Unit Supervisor
Office: 614-629-8332
Email:
Joseph.Schmansky@OhioAGO.gov
Joe joined the Ohio Attorney General's Office in June 2015. Joe currently is the supervisor of the Charitable Gaming Division in the attorney general’s Charitable Law Section. The division represents the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the Ohio Lottery Commission, the Ohio Racing Commission, the Ohio Liquor Control Commission as well as the attorney general’s bingo unit. It primarily pursues before those agencies administrative cases involving violations of Ohio law and the various licenses they issue. Along with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Investigative Unit, the Charitable Gaming Division will also represent all those agencies in original actions brought against them in the federal and state courts.
Joe has also been involved in a number of enforcement actions taken against Ohio charitable organizations that were breaching their fiduciary duties or failing to follow legal requirements associated with bingo licenses.
Prior to joining the attorney general's office, Joe served as an Assistant City Prosecutor for the City of Delaware, Ohio, and, for a period of time, simultaneously operated his own private law practice. Before that, Joe worked for a mid-sized Columbus law firm where he handled a wide array of clients and cases ranging from defending civil actions for commercial and business entities, municipalities and townships; pursuing real property valuation cases for numerous school districts throughout the State of Ohio; as well as representing individual clients.
Joe started his legal career serving as a staff attorney and magistrate for the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. Before beginning his legal career, Joe also served for five years in the Legislative Clerk's Office of the Ohio House of Representatives.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2000)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D., cum laude, Order of the Curia (2000)
- The Ohio State University, B.A., Political Science (1991)
Principal Asst. Attorney General/Unit Coordinator
Office: 614-466-3525
Email:
William.Sieck@OhioAGO.gov
Bill is a Principal Assistant Attorney General and Attorney Unit Supervisor in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section. Bill joined the attorney general’s office in June 2018. He works with skilled attorneys, investigators and accountants to protect charitable donors and beneficiaries through investigation and litigation to resolve complaints involving charitable trusts, charitable solicitations, and Ohio's charitable gaming laws.
Bill also helps nonprofit leaders focus on providing charitable services that strengthen Ohio's communities by providing training about board governance and fiduciary duties.
Prior to joining the attorney general's office, Bill spent nearly two decades in the litigation department of a large law firm in Columbus, where he worked on a wide variety of commercial and business litigation in state and federal courts in Ohio.
From 1999-2000, Bill served as a judicial clerk in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2000)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
EDUCATION
- The University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., cum laude, Law Review, Order of the Coif, and Keedy Cup Moot Court Finalist
- The University of Chicago, B.A., United States History, cum laude
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-644-8445
Email:
Christine.Staab@OhioAGO.gov
Christine joined the Charitable Law Section in 2021. She works primarily in the Administrative Law Unit representing the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, the Ohio Investigative Unit, the Ohio State Racing Commission, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Christine previously worked in the Collections Enforcement Section beginning in 2013 and has represented various clients over the years, with her primary clients being the Department of Taxation and Department of Insurance. In Collections Enforcement, she conducted civil litigation to collect monies owed to state agencies, as well as representing the State in administrative hearings against liquor permit holders not in compliance with tax liabilities. She also is a licensed insurance agent and worked in her family’s insurance agency through law school and until joining the attorney general’s office.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, J.D. (2011)
- The Ohio State University, B.S., Business Administration and Marketing (2008)
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-752-4942
Email:
Lance.Suede@OhioAGO.gov
Lance is a Principal Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section. He conducts investigations and enforcement actions involving charitable trusts and other not-for-profit entities.
Lance comes to the Charitable Law Section with extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector. Most recently, he served as independent investigator for fraud and corruption in projects funded by the World Bank. He otherwise has worked in many capacities on anti-corruption and governance and compliance issues for international agencies, banks and not-for-profit entities that provide or receive foreign aid.
Before entering public service, Lance was a partner in a global law firm based in New York doing criminal defense, civil litigation and internal investigations into multinational companies and banks for fraud and corruption. Lance has litigated multi-district cases in state and federal trial and appeals courts across the United States; and he served for ten years on the Criminal Justice Act Panel in the Southern District of New York representing indigent criminal defendants pro bono.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- State of Ohio
- State of New York
EDUCATION
- Harvard Law School (1990)
- Brandeis University, summa cum laude (1987)
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-779-0154
Email:
Tracy.Wendt@OhioAGO.gov
Tracy joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in March 2023. Before joining the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Tracy was in private practice for over two decades and worked at several small law firms in the Columbus area. Over the course of his years in practice, Tracy has primarily worked in litigation involving a number of different subject matters and handled appellate cases.
His work at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office focuses on civil investigations and enforcement involving charitable trusts and fiduciary duties, as well as charitable fundraising and gaming.
While in law school, Tracy served as an extern with the Office of the Legal Counsel to the Governor of Ohio. He also worked as a law clerk at the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Commonwealth of Virginia (1996)
- State of Ohio (1998)
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School (1996)
- Bowling Green State University, B.A., Political Science (1989)