Shawnee Hills Village Loses $54,388 to Paving Scam
SHAWNEE HILLS, OH – The Village of Shawnee Hills was defrauded of $54,388 intended for a paving project, according to a recent audit report from the Ohio Auditor‘s office.the incident, which occurred in october 2024, involved a scammer impersonating Strawser Paving company and redirecting payment to a fraudulent bank account.
The audit, finalized September 26, 2025, details how the village’s fiscal officer, Roskoski, received an email on September 10, 2024, from someone falsely claiming to be with Strawser Paving.The email requested an electronic payment form. The provided bank account data appeared legitimate but was later traced to an individual in Azusa, California. On October 16,2024,Roskoski authorized a payment of $54,388 to the fraudulent account.
The village became aware of the fraudulent transaction in December 2024 after being contacted by the Azusa, California Police Department. The department discovered the diverted funds during an unrelated, ongoing inquiry. While Azusa police alerted Shawnee Hills to the fraud, they did not pursue an investigation into the incident itself.
“The fiscal officer should obtain confirmation of all bank accounts for electronic payments to vendors, via a phone call or an established email address with a confirmed employee at the vendor, prior to adding/changing electronic payment information in the village’s automated system,” the auditor stated in the report, highlighting a critical security lapse.
Clay Strawser, vice president of Strawser Paving Company in Columbus, confirmed the village ultimately paid for the completed, minor asphalt repairs. He noted that such impersonation scams are unfortunately common. “Unfortunately, that happens multiple times per year,” Strawser said, “where a fraudster tries to impersonate the company providing services and get people to send them money to the wrong bank account.”
The village council had approved an emergency resolution for the paving contract with Strawser Paving Company on September 9, 2024.
Seth Chapman, formerly in charge of the azusa detective division, stated the department’s investigation into related fraudulent activity is ongoing and declined to comment further on the connection to the Shawnee Hills case or potential involvement of other municipalities.
Roskoski declined to comment when contacted by The Columbus Dispatch on september 26, 2025.
Relevant Documents:
* Shawnee Hills Paving Contract
