A federal grand jury has indicted the former superintendent of a now-closed Cincinnati charter school and a business partner, accusing them of draining more than $8 million from the school through a kickback scheme that prosecutors say paid for luxury cars, a Miami-area vacation rental, and other personal expenses.
Leondo Ramone Davenport, 50, of Cincinnati, and Jonathan Larry Ballew, 62, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested by federal agents and charged with wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Services billed but never performed
Prosecutors say Davenport, who ran the now-shuttered Dohn Community High School, authorized the school to pay more than $8 million between 2021 and 2024 to entities controlled by Ballew for education services, staff training, technology, and construction and remodeling work. Much of that work, the indictment alleges, was never actually performed. Ballew is then accused of kicking back more than $4 million of those payments to entities controlled by Davenport.
Investigators say the two men used the proceeds to buy luxury vehicles, including a Bentley for Ballew and a Rolls-Royce for Davenport. In October 2023, according to court records, the pair signed a two-year lease on a vacation property near Miami for $30,000 a month.
Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the money laundering-related count carries up to 10 years. Both men have been arrested and are awaiting further court proceedings; neither has entered a plea.
Charter schools, which receive public funding but often operate with less oversight than traditional public districts, have faced a string of financial mismanagement cases in recent years as investigators scrutinize contracts awarded to vendors with ties to school administrators.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio · FOX19 Cincinnati
