A report released Tuesday by The Ohio State University is answering questions a lot of people have about of former university President Ted Carter Jr.
concludes Carter misused his position as Ohio State鈥檚 president to seek resources from the university and university partners for , the host of a podcast recorded at WOSU.
Furthermore, the report finds Carter sought resources for Vlachos from several outside entities including corporate partners, state government departments and a national veterans organization for her business ventures, a conflict with ongoing university projects and priorities.
The agency JobsOhio approved $60,000 for Vlachos to produce four episodes of her podcast, .
The report mentions a Dec. 10, 2025 meeting JobsOhio hosted focused on an app Vlachos wanted to develop to help veterans access higher education and jobs.
Carter briefly appeared at the meeting. The report said that another person at the meeting, Vet Mentor AI founder and CEO Paul Hylenski, described Carter entering "like the Godfather," and making "direct, authoritative statements" about Vlachos' app idea.
Hylenski said Carter pointed at JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef and said, "You need to get this done."
Concerning Vlachos, the report said she had "extraordinary access" to Carter while he served as president. The pair had at least 24 meetings, both in-person and online, and she took at least five trips with Carter.
The report said resources that Carter directly sought for Vlachos included:
- Employment at the university.
- Space on campus to conduct her business.
- Staff and technical support for her podcast.
- Staff assistance for her business projects.
- University investment in her business proposals.
- Financial support and engagement from key external university partners.
"For almost two years, Carter asked numerous individuals inside the university to provide inappropriate assistance to Vlachos, a close personal associate," the report said. "His efforts were wide-ranging and extensive.
"Carter sought resources and assistance for Vlachos despite there being no clear nexus to a viable service or product that she could deliver that would serve Ohio State鈥檚 interests," the report said.
According to the report, Carter's actions violated several university policies: Outside Activities and Conflicts, Fiscal Stewardship, and Expenditures - adding: "Sufficient evidence exists that Carter should have seen that Vlachos鈥� efforts both internal and external to the university implicated this reporting requirement because her efforts, if successful, would have resulted in misuse or misappropriation of public funds. Carter failed to take steps to respond appropriately."
The report also found no additional personnel actions were recommended following Carter鈥檚 resignation and the April 14 resignation of Senior Vice President . The report also noted Kabourek "went far beyond any other employee in supporting Carter鈥檚 efforts to assist Vlachos, both inside and outside the university."
Investigators noted they conducted 60 total interviews, including 12 individuals external to the university. Carter declined an interview through his attorney and Vlachos did not respond to the university's interview request.
Carter was replaced by , who was appointed as Ohio State's current president by the Board of Trustees without a broader search.
In a statement Tuesday, Bellamkonda said, "It is important for me and our leadership team to share this material with all of you so that we can all process the results together as a Buckeye community. The investigation was launched immediately following the resignation of Walter 鈥淭ed鈥� Carter Jr. and focused on the circumstances around his resignation and the improper use of his position. It was conducted jointly by the Office of University Compliance and Integrity and the Department of Internal Audit, which are independent functions for the university reporting to the Board of Trustees鈥� Legal, Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee."
Bellamkonda further stated, "We are grateful for the careful and thorough work of these offices over these last several weeks."
The report ends with five key conclusions:
- Maintain the processes of the President鈥檚 Office and the independence of the Board Office in reviewing travel and expenditure requests submitted by the President, as well as transparent scheduling processes for the President.
- Units should review their practices on leadership requests for assistance.
- Consider revisions to ethics and insider threat training for senior leaders.
- Reinforce the importance of culture and shared values at the senior leadership level.
- Continue to respond as appropriate to any state and federal agency inquiries.