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Grand jury indicts Athens County commissioner and Job and Family Services director on felony charges
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A grand jury on Monday indicted an Athens County commissioner and the executive director of Athens County Job and Family Services on felony charges related to allegations of theft in office.
Jean Demosky, the Job and Family Services director, was indicted on seven felony counts that stem from her use of a nonprofit organization to raise money and provide services intended for low-income families.
The indictment also alleges that after a whistleblower raised concerns, Demosky and Athens County Commissioner Charlie Adkins interrogated JFS employees to find out who wrote the letter. Employees were threatened their handwriting would be submitted for analysis to match with the letter, according to the indictment.
Demosky was arrested Friday morning and arraigned that afternoon. She was then released on her own recognizance.
Following Monday’s indictments, the county commissioners voted Tuesday morning to remove Demosky from her position and appointed Keith Wiens as interim executive director.
Adkins recused himself from the vote. He said he plans to continue in his role as commissioner while the legal case against him proceeds but will recuse himself from any votes where he believes he has a conflict.
Demosky was indicted on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, three counts of theft in office, one count of telecommunications fraud and two counts of intimidation, all felonies. The indictment also includes one misdemeanor count of misuse of credit cards.
Demosky’s indictment alleges she used a nonprofit organization to put on three events: the Back to School Bash, which provides children with basic school supplies; Operation Full Belly, which provides meals to families; and Winterfest, which provides winter clothing to school children.
The first two were intended for low-income families only. The indictment alleges that ineligible people were also served, including Demosky’s granddaughter.
Demosky served as the nonprofit’s president and had Job and Family Services employees run the organization and plan the events at the expense of work they should have been doing for JFS, the indictment alleges. A state audit concluded this work totaled over $1 million in staff time, according to the indictment.
Demosky used the JFS website to promote the nonprofit and solicit donations, which were made through PayPal. This money was to be used for the events, but Demosky also had JFS cover some event expenses. JFS was supposed to get reimbursed by the nonprofit, but this didn’t always happen, the indictment alleges.
A former JFS fiscal officer told investigators that in situations where the nonprofit came up short, Demosky directed him to pay what they could out of the nonprofit’s account and that JFS would have to “take care of the rest,” according to the indictment.
This resulted in at least $50,000 in unpaid debts by the nonprofit, the indictment alleges.
Another JFS employee told investigators Demosky used the JFS credit card for nonprofit-related expenses when it didn’t have enough money to cover them, according to the indictment. Demosky intended to pay this back but often could not do so because the nonprofit didn’t have the money, the indictment alleges.
Notes from a leadership meeting in October 2025 indicate Demosky was asked about an invoice for an outstanding balance of $32,000 owed to JFS by the nonprofit for items related to Winterfest 2023 and Back to School Bash 2024. “Demosky responded that because the nonprofit was not billed in a timely manner by (JFS), the nonprofit should not be expected to pay the county back,” according to the indictment.
A JFS employee who did a lot of work for the nonprofit grew concerned about how it was being operated and emailed the Ohio Ethics Commission in July 2025 with several questions, according to the indictment. The employee then anonymously notified the attorney general’s office.
A whistleblower sent a letter to county commissioners in September 2025 raising concerns about operation of the nonprofit. Demosky and Adkins then “began interrogating employees … to determine who wrote the letter. Employees were also threatened that their handwriting would be submitted for handwriting analysis,” the indictment alleges. “This created an environment of intimidation.”