Federal prosecutors have charged the former superintendent of Dohn Community High School and one of its longtime contractors with running a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme that authorities say drained the Cincinnati charter school of money meant for vulnerable teenagers. Ramone Davenport, who ran Dohn through his for-profit management company, and contractor Jonathan Larry Ballew each face eight federal counts stemming from the alleged fraud.
According to WCPO 9 Cincinnati, the indictment accuses Davenport and Ballew of devising a continuing scheme to defraud Dohn of money and property through false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Davenport operated the Cincinnati school through Cincinnati Charter School Collaborative LLC, a company he controlled, while Ballew founded multiple companies that provided services to Dohn, including entities identified in the indictment as Core, CSS, Progressive and Elite.
Prosecutors allege Davenport authorized more than $8 million in payments from Dohn to Ballew-controlled entities, and that Ballew in turn kicked back more than $4 million to entities controlled by Davenport. Ballew's invoices to the school allegedly included charges for work that was never performed or that was grossly inflated for the actual services rendered, per the indictment as reported by WCPO 9. Davenport is also accused of instructing other Dohn employees to prioritize payments to Ballew's companies, and Ballew allegedly sent some of that payment money to Cincinnati Charter School Collaborative, AD Staffing and other Davenport-controlled entities.
Inflated Enrollment Numbers Allegedly Padded the School's Revenue
The indictment also alleges that Davenport overstated the number of full-time students enrolled at Dohn in order to increase the school's revenue. Dohn, located in Cincinnati, served young people seeking second chances, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The eight counts against each man include four wire fraud counts and additional counts for illegal monetary transactions involving property derived from specified unlawful activity, per the indictment described by WCPO 9. If convicted, both Davenport and Ballew must forfeit the amount of money each received in the scheme.
A Collapse That Was Years in the Making
The federal charges cap a chain of events that began in October 2024, when Dohn's governing board ousted Davenport and his management company, a move Hoodline reported at the time. The Ohio Auditor of State later investigated Dohn, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Dohn had operated under management contracts with Davenport's company since 2019.
The financial deficits proved insurmountable. Dohn announced on a Friday that it would shut down the following Monday, March 31, 2025, even though the school had originally intended to remain open through June, as WCPO 9 reported. An April 2025 investigative report from the same station further explored the business relationships between Davenport and Ballew while Ballew held school service contracts; Davenport was also identified as a bar owner while serving as superintendent. In June 2024, Dohn's charter sponsor alerted the Ohio State Auditor to concerns about the school.
School's Founding Mission and What's Next for the Building
Dohn Community High School served young people seeking second chances. The school's collapse marked a stark reversal from its role as an educational institution for those students.
Davenport's legal troubles predate the federal indictment. A single count of domestic violence filed against him in Hamilton County was dismissed for want of prosecution on Nov. 12, 2025, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. A new tuition-free charter school is planned for North Avondale, serving students needing flexible diploma paths, as Hoodline previously reported.
