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.
The Charitable Law Section also 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.
In addition, the Charitable Law Section's Taxation unit represents the Tax Commissioner of Ohio, who is charged with administering and enforcing most of the state’s taxes, including the state income tax, state sales and use taxes, and several business and excise taxes.
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 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: 614-644-8697
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: 614-995-9032
Email:
Samantha.Cowne@OhioAGO.gov
Samantha joined the attorney general's office in November 2022. As of member of the Taxation unit, she represents the Ohio Tax Commissioner in appeals before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and Ohio appellate courts. Prior to joining the attorney general's office, Samantha served as an attorney examiner at the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and as a property tax consultant in the private sector.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D. (2010)
- The Ohio State University, B.A., Political Science (2004)
Associate Assistant Attorney General
Office: 216-787-4485
Email:
Lee.Crumrine@OhioAGO.gov
Lee joined the Charitable Law Section in June 2025. His work focuses on the criminal investigation and prosecution of fraud involving charitable organizations. He also represents the Ohio Attorney General in judicial proceedings related to trust and estate matters that affect charitable trusts.
Prior to joining the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Lee served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Richland and Lake counties and as an assistant law director for the City of Cleveland Heights. In those roles, he provided legal services to local government officials, departments, agencies, boards, and commissions on a variety of civil matters. He began his legal career in Ohio as a criminal assistant prosecuting attorney for Washington County, where he prosecuted felony criminal cases in the court of common pleas.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (2019)
- State of Ohio (2013)
- Commonwealth of Virginia (2011)
EDUCATION
- William & Mary Law School, J.D. (2011)
- Ohio University, B.A., History and Political Science, magna cum laude (2008)
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-466-2710
Email:
Amy.Davison@OhioAGO.gov
Amy Davison joined the Charitable Law Section in January 2025 where she analyzes all aspects of Ohio Charitable Gaming laws. She is involved in licensing various entities for conducting charitable gaming, distributing gaming supplies and manufacturing software to ensure compliance with Ohio Laws. In addition, she is responsible for handling all civil violations of charitable gaming law.
Amy has been a criminal prosecutor for over twenty years litigating many different types of cases. She has prosecuted misdemeanors, felony, and juvenile cases. Since the beginning of her legal career in 2001, she has dedicated herself to public service.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Ohio State Bar (2001)
- U.S. Southern District of Ohio (2013)
EDUCATION
- Ohio Northern Pettit College of Law (2001)
- Bowling Green State University, B.A. History and English (1996)
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)
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-387-1915
Email:
Derek.Heyman@OhioAGO.gov
Derek joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in March 2025. Before joining the attorney general’s office, Derek, who is also a CPA, focused his legal practice on state and local tax, working most recently at a Columbus law firm and previously as a manager at a Fortune 50 company and a Big 4 accounting firm. Derek has also worked as an attorney for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
Derek’s work at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office focuses on civil and criminal investigations and litigation involving charitable organizations as well as actions involving the modification of charitable trusts.
While in law school, Derek served as editor-in-chief of the Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal, currently known as the Ohio State Business Law Journal.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (2008)
- S.U.N.Y. University at Albany, M.S., Accounting (2000)
- S.U.N.Y. University at Buffalo, Ph.D., Philosophy (1995)
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)
Assistant Attorney General
Office: 513-852-1575
Email:
Kaia.Jackson@OhioAGO.gov
Kaia joined the Charitable Law Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in April of 2025. Prior to that, Kaia worked in the Executive Agencies Section for over two years. Before joining the attorney general’s office, Kaia was a municipal prosecutor for the City of Lima for over five years.
Kaia’s work in the Charitable Law Section focuses on civil and criminal investigations and litigation involving charitable organizations as well as actions involving the modification of charitable trusts.
While in law school, Kaia was on the moot court trial team and interned for the City of Lima Proseuctor’s Office.
BAR ADMISSIONS
EDUCATION
- Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law (2016)
- The Ohio State University, B.S. (2013)
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: 614-644-6745
Email:
Daniel.Kim@OhioAGO.gov
Danny joined the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 2013 and has spent his entire OAG career in the Taxation Section, which recently became a unit within the Charitable Law Section. Danny’s practice involves representing the Ohio Department of Taxation, defending the department’s administrative decisions both before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and various trial and appellate courts. His docket has included cases covering a broad range of Ohio taxes (e.g., commercial activity tax, business/utility excise taxes; real property exemptions, sales/use tax, income tax, etc.). He has argued multiple times before the Supreme Court of Ohio, plus other courts in Ohio and elsewhere.
Previously, Danny worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, defending numerous federal agencies in actions involving money claims against the federal government. He began his legal career at a large law firm in Washington, DC, working primarily in that firm’s tax and litigation groups.
During law school, Danny interned at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, working for the Hon. Richard W. Roberts.
Before entering law school, Danny worked as a management consultant, advising the U.S. Postal Service with both its ratemaking and retail merchandising efforts.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2013)
- Commonwealth of Virginia (2003)
EDUCATION
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D. (2003)
- Williams College, B.A., Mathematics and Economics (1996)
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-995-5981
Email:
Melissa.Montgomery@OhioAGO.gov
Melissa Montgomery joined the Charitable Law Section in February 2025. She is a native of Findlay, Ohio. She graduated from law school in 1999 and began her career as a public defender in the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office. After six years with the county, Melissa moved to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 2006.
While at the attorney general’s office, Melissa has worked in the Civil Rights Section and the Criminal Justice Section. In 2010, she transferred to the Crime Victim Services section where she served as unit coordinator and assistant chief.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
EDUCATION
- University of Toledo College of Law (1999)
- Bowling Green State University
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office: 614-466-2943
Email:
Raina.NahraBoulos@OhioAGO.gov
Since joining the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in August 2014, Raina has litigated a variety of tax cases at both the trial and appellate levels. As a member of the Taxation unit, she frequently represents the Tax Commissioner in litigation before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and several state and federal courts. Raina has written several appellate briefs and has orally argued before the Ohio Supreme Court and Ohio Courts of Appeals.
Prior to joining the attorney general's office, Raina served first as an administrative appeals hearing officer and then as the Division Counsel for Income and Pass-Through Entity Taxes at the Ohio Department of Taxation. Before her experiences in public service, she worked in a Big 4 public accounting firm. She also owned and operated a retail food franchise business as a small business entrepreneur.
Raina has been a frequent lecturer on income and pass-through entity tax topics.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2006)
- Washington, D.C. (2006) (inactive)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Tax Court
EDUCATION
- Capital University Law School, LL.M. Taxation (2010)
- Cleveland State University, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, J.D. (2005)
- Case Western Reserve University, B.S., Accounting, magna cum laude (2002)
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: 614-466-2909
Email:
Chelsea.Szilagyi@OhioAGO.gov
Chelsea joined the attorney general’s office in 2024. As a member of the Taxation unit, she practices before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and argues before the Supreme Court of Ohio on behalf of the Tax Commissioner of Ohio.
In law school, Chelsea was an Arthur Russell Morgan Fellow at the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, a member of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic, a senior articles editor for Human Rights Quarterly, and an oralist for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot team in Vienna, Austria.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2025)
- State of Ohio (2024)
EDUCATION
- University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D. (2024)
- Wayne State University, B.A., Near Eastern Languages and Peace & Conflict Studies (2020)
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)