Amanda Kiger

LISBON — East Liverpool resident Amanda M. Kiger and River Valley Organizing, the nonprofit she founded, stand accused of allegedly stealing at least $150,000 or more in charitable donations for personal use over a four-year period.

Kiger, 52, Westfield Road, was served Thursday with a secret indictment issued this week by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for multiple charges related to theft as executive director of the organization and related to her alleged theft of unemployment benefits and failure to file state income tax returns during that same period.

She remained in the Columbiana County jail as of Friday, with a recognizance bond set at $100,000. Both cases have been assigned to county Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam, with arraignment set for 1 p.m. April 2.

The charges against Kiger include third-degree felony aggravated theft, second-degree felony telecommunications fraud, four counts of fifth-degree felony filing incomplete, false and fraudulent returns, fourth-degree felonies of grand theft and falsification in a theft offense and third-degree felony telecommunications fraud.

The indictment against River Valley Organizing, in care of Kiger, Walnut Street, East Liverpool, included one count of aggravated theft, a third-degree felony, and one count of telecommunications fraud, a second-degree felony.

According to the indictments, the thefts occurred from Feb. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2024, and Kiger solicited and accepted contributions of funds from various donors to River Valley Organizing for charitable purposes and “misused such funds for personal purposes and her own financial benefit.” The amount was listed from $150,000 to less than $750,000.

The charge for telecommunications fraud said she misused the funds for personal purposes and her own financial benefit “through a series of financial transactions and transfers completed via telecommunications networks.” The value of the benefit obtained was listed as $150,000 or more but less than $1 million.

Regarding the other charges against Kiger, she allegedly obtained $17,346 in in unemployment benefits from the state by making false statements to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in her application and claims for unemployment benefits from April 2, 2021 through May 12, 2022. She allegedly failed to file annual state income tax returns in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the indictments Friday, noting she was taken into custody by the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the press release, River Valley Organizing was incorporated in 2020 and “describes itself as a citizen-based group working for a ‘safer and cleaner Ohio River Valley,’ advocating on various social and environmental issues.”

Yost’s Charitable Law Section investigated the case and is prosecuting it in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

The press release noted that Ohioans who suspect a charitable organization of fraud or misuse can file a complaint at charitable.ohioago.gov or by calling 800-282-0515.

When an attempt was made to call the phone number for River Valley Organizing, a message said the call could not be completed. The last post on the Facebook page was Jan. 19, 2025.

The organization’s information on the Facebook page said: “We are leaders committed to restorative and transformative solutions for public health and justice that DEFY the isolation of incarceration, the impacts of racialized drug policies, the desolation of environmental degradation, and violent policing; empowering and strengthening the health and morale for ALL! We are Creating a multi-racial, multicultural working class organization that radically builds community outside of existing institutions and exclusively centers the leadership of affected members building community power.”

The website no longer comes up.