Scioto County Commissioner and His Wife Indicted in Alleged Kickback Scheme Involving Southern Ohio Port Authority

COLUMBUS — The Scioto County Grand Jury handed down indictments Friday against a Scioto County Commissioner and his wife as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged bribes and public contracts involving the Southern Ohio Port Authority and a Portsmouth-area business park, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced.

Bryan Davis faces 13 felony counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; theft in office; money laundering; aggravated theft; tampering with evidence; attempted tampering with evidence; receiving stolen property; forgery; obstructing justice; tampering with records; and filing incomplete, false, and fraudulent returns.

Lorinda Sue Davis faces 10 felony counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; money laundering; tampering with evidence; attempted tampering with evidence; receiving stolen property; forgery; obstructing justice; tampering with records; and filing incomplete, false, and fraudulent returns.

“This is an outright abuse of the public trust,” Auditor Faber said. “We will work to ensure justice is served for the people of Scioto County.”

Two others were indicted earlier this year as part of an investigation by the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) based on a complaint alleging a potential unlawful interest in a public contract between the Southern Ohio Port Authority and an out-of-state company for a building at the Southern Ohio Aeronautical Regional (SOAR) Business Park, adjacent to the Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport.

In February 2025, Robert Horton, who headed the Southern Ohio Port Authority and the Scioto County Economic Development Department, was indicted on 15 criminal counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, aggravated theft, money laundering, tampering with public records, tampering with evidence, bribery, having an unlawful interest in a public contract, and falsification.

His wife, Lioubov Horton, was indicted on 12 criminal counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, aggravated theft, money laundering, tampering with evidence, and having an unlawful interest in a public contract.

The 13-page indictment filed in Scioto County Common Pleas Court Friday outlines the alleged schemes involved, including Horton receiving kickbacks for securing a public contract for construction at the SOAR Business Park and Davis using his position as county commissioner to secure the contract and public funding involved, among other alleged crimes.

Lioubov Horton and Lorinda Davis allegedly received related kickback payments through consulting firms they owned.

The four also allegedly met in person and discussed ways to provide false information to investigators and attempted to falsify records to hide their crimes.

Attorneys from SIU were appointed by the Scioto County Prosecutor to serve as special prosecutor in the case.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 143 convictions resulting in more than $13 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictions since January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU’s fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

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The Auditor of State’s Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov