Former Columbus zoo CFO sentenced to prison in $2.29M fraud scheme

“Greg Bell caved to temptation to enrich himself and his family at the zoo’s expense,” Yost said.

As part of his plea deal. Bell agreed to cooperate with the investigation and testify against other zoo executives.

Bell was charged as part of an investigation that found a scheme by zoo executives to use zoo funds for vacations, vehicles, concerts, sporting events and other personal expenses from 2011 to 2021.

He was charged along with four other zoo officials, including his son Grant Bell, former zoo marketing director Pete Fingerhut, former zoo purchasing agency Tracy Murnane and former zoo CEO Tom Stalf.

Grant Bell was charged with one count of theft in a bill of information filed with the Delaware County Common Pleas Court in July. He pleaded guilty July 30, according to court documents, and could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9.

Fingerhut and Murnane both pleaded guilty to multiple charges – Fingerhut to 16 felonies and one misdemeanor, and Murnane to six felonies and two misdemeanors.

Fingerhut agreed to pay more than $675,000 in restitution to the zoo along with back taxes to the state and the IRS as part of a plea deal, the attorney general’s office said.

Murnane agreed to pay $90,000 in restitution as part of a plea agreement, according to WBNS in Columbus.

Both are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23.

Stalf also took a plea agreement where he pleaded guilty to 15 felony charges and agreed to pay $315,572.65 in restitution on top of $400,000 that was already paid on his behalf in 2021, the attorney general’s office said. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 14.

In Greg Bell’s sentencing memo, prosecutors commented on the effects of misusing charitable dollars, writing, “When these assets are exploited for the personal benefit of executives and high-ranking employees at a nonprofit, particularly a nonprofit that receives taxpayer money, it erodes the trust that the public has in charitable organizations in the state and frustrates the missions of those organizations.”