Judge removes State Teachers Retirement System Board member, bars former member from serving
A Franklin County judge recently removed a member of the State Teachers Retirement System Board and barred him and a second, former member from serving again.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Karen Held Phipps removed Rudy Fichtenbaum from the board. The judge also barred Fichtenbaum and former STRS Board member Wade Steen from serving again.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit that Attorney General Dave Yost filed in May 2024 in the Ohio Court of Common Pleas in Columbus to remove Steen and Fichtenbaum from the STRS board, a pension fund for Ohio’s more than 500,000 active and retired public educators. Yost alleged the board members participated in a “scheme” to steer contracts that could benefit them.
“Wade Steen and Rudy Fichtenbaum each took a solemn fiduciary oath, promising they would uphold the highest standards of conduct while serving as STRS board members,” Yost said in a statement. “But instead of keeping their promises, they breached their fiduciary duties in a high-stakes scheme that jeopardized the financial security of half a million teachers and retirees.
“Their actions were deceptive, disruptive and fundamentally incompatible with their fiduciary duties,” Yost added. “The court today rightly found that the defendants have forever forfeited any right to serve as members of the STRS board.”
The ruling, which follows an October trial, marks the latest in the fight over the STRS.
Concerns about the system emerged after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine received a 14-page memo from an anonymous whistleblower in May 2024. According to reports, the document alleged that a scandal was emerging within the teacher retirement system.
The concern centers on their relationship with QED, an investment firm co-founded by former Ohio Deputy Treasurer Seth Metcalf and J.D. Tremmel.
“In the end, the evidence presented in this case showed that Steen and Fichtenbaum were essentially acting as agents for their undisclosed principals: QED, Metcalf, and Tremmel,” Phipps wrote.
“Indeed, multiple exhibits demonstrate that Steen and Fichtenbaum acted on behalf of QED, Metcalf, and Tremmel in their dealings with the Board, during Board meetings, and in attempting to undermine public confidence in the STRS investment staff,” Phipps added. “Thus, the Court concludes that the Attorney General has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Defendants repeatedly breached their fiduciary duties.”
While DeWine previously expressed concern about potential corruption at the State Teachers Retirement System, he told News 5 Cleveland in April 2025 that the board has overcome “that problem that we’ve had in the past.”
In a statement, Ohio Education Association President Jeff Wensing said the Ohio Education Association “has been, and always will be, steadfast in our commitment to standing up for the long-term health of the retirement system for all STRS contributors – active, retired, and future teachers alike.”
“With Judge Phipps’ ruling, the Ohio Education Association hopes all stakeholders can move forward together with confidence in the STRS system in a way that supports the security and sustainability of the pensions our members rely on when their time in the classroom comes to an end,” Wensing said.
Ohio public employees can participate in different pension programs. The programs include the State Teachers Retirement System for public school system teachers in the Buckeye State, the School Employees Retirement System for public school employees who aren’t teachers, and the Public Employees Retirement System for public employees paid in any part by the state.
