The ViaQuest Fraud Story Just Got More Detailed

Local News

If you've got a kid who sometimes misses school, here's something worth knowing for the new school year.

Ohio changed how schools track absences, and Dublin has updated its policy to match. The key change: every missed hour counts now toward a student's overall total, no matter the reason — sick days, family trips, driver's ed, all of it. Once a student hits around 18 missed days in a year, that's 10 percent of the school year, and the district takes notice.

Unexcused absences carry extra weight, though — too many of those specifically can lead to truancy, which is the track that can eventually involve the courts. The district says that's a last resort, not a first move. Religious observance days, driver's ed, school-approved trips, college visits, and medical reasons are all still excused, so they won't push a student toward that path, even though the hours still count toward the overall total.

Either way, families won't be blindsided — the district sends a notice once a student passes 50 missed hours, then a follow-up letter if they cross that 10 percent mark.

If you want to read the actual state law behind this, it's all here.

Local News

Thousands of rubber ducks are about to race down a 300-foot slip and slide at Riverside Crossing Park this Saturday, and yours could win $1,000.

Here's how it works: you buy a duck (really, an entry), it gets a number, and it goes into the water with a few thousand others. Whichever ducks cross the finish line first, second, and third each win their owner $1,000 — and this year's patient champion from Nationwide Children's Hospital gets to do the honors of pulling out the winners.

This is the 16th year for the Columbus Duck Race, and it's put on by the Development Board of Nationwide Children's Hospital. Every dollar raised goes toward pediatric research at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute.

It runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, right in Bridge Park. Bring the family — win or lose, it's for a good cause either way. You can register a duck for the race here.

Local News

An update to yesterday's story on ViaQuest, and it turns out there's more to it than we first knew.

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware Chancery Court, and CFO Dive got a look at the actual complaint. Turns out the two executives aren't just former colleagues — they're family, with the CFO married into the founder's family. That's worth knowing going in, since it colors a lot of what's alleged.

The specifics get pretty pointed. Company money allegedly covered a leased Range Rover, Ohio State football tickets, and country club dues, on top of both giving themselves pay raises nobody signed off on. Separately, the complaint alleges nearly $13 million moved through a deal involving the company's hospice division — a more specific number than the "$15 million-plus" Business First first reported, though the two figures likely aren't in conflict; the $13 million looks like one piece of that larger total.

There's also this: the complaint claims that after he was let go, the former CEO broke into ViaQuest's office and took things from the property.

Still just allegations at this point, and still working through civil court. We'll keep an eye on it. More info here from CFO Dive.