MIAMI TOWNSHIP — A former elected official is renewing a legal fight to get his job back.
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Bob Matthews was accused of improperly trying to invest nearly $10 million in public money in gold coins.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fiscal officer who tried to spend nearly $10M on gold coins removed from office
A judge removed him from office after a short trial, but now he’s appealing the decision.
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Matthews previously said he wouldn’t appeal the court order.
News Center 7’s John Bedell went to his house in South Montgomery County on Wednesday to ask him about his efforts to get his job back.
“In March, you told me you were done fighting it. You weren’t going to appeal. What’s changed?” Bedell asked.
“Well, I just decided it was worth the effort because when I looked at the judge’s decision, I just felt like he hadn’t really followed the law on it. So I thought it was a worthy effort for doing an appeal,” Matthews said.
Matthews is talking about a judge’s ruling in March.
The judge wrote that Matthews violated state law and township policy by withdrawing funds from a township investment account without the trustee’s approval.
That decision came after a one-day trial in Spring 2026, tied to a civil lawsuit from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
The office had gotten a court order suspending Matthews last fall, as it sought to remove him permanently.
As previously reported, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said Matthews tried to invest the nearly $9.7 million of Miami Township funds in gold coins last year.
The township’s finance director blocked the transaction after the bank told him about the attempted purchase.
Matthews said Wednesday that he wants the judge’s decision, which also said he cannot hold public office for four years, to be overturned.
“I’d like the job back. That’s why I ran for it in the first place,” Matthews said.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office said they are aware of the appeal and will file its response with the court.
News Center 7’s John Bedell checked, and the office has not filed its response yet, but Matthews filed the appeal on Friday.
We will continue to follow this story.
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