Dayton group home could lose its license
County says home’s 14 clients will be cared for if home shuts down.
A mental health residential home in Dayton is at risk of losing its license to operate after its owner pleaded guilty to forging checks — and now faces addi
tional theft charges. Clark’s Boarding Home, 915 W. Grand Ave., currently houses 14 clients, according to an employee of the home who wouldn’t give her name.
State records show the home is owned and operated by Karen L. Clark, who told the newspaper she is appealing a June ruling by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services that bars her from owning a adult care facility for seven years.
Under state law, individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes, including forgery, are prohibited from working in a residential facility, the department said in its ruling.
Clark pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery in Delaware County in 2015. Those charges followed an investigation by Westerville police into allegations Clark deposited fraudulent checks claim
ing to be from two Dayton nonprofits — Choices in Community Living and Senior Resource Connection — into a business bank
account in the Columbus area and then withdrew money from the account before the checks were declined, according to Westerville police records.
The investigation also revealed t hat C lark wrote fraudulent cashier’s checks from Day Air Credit Union to a Marriott Execustay in Westerville, those same police records show.
Clark pleaded guilty in Novem- ber 2015 and was given community control and ordered to pay $5,240 in restitution to U.S. Bank and $6,100 in restitu
tion to Execustay. But a Montgomery County grand jury last month indicted her on theft
charges stemming from checks cashed in 2014.
The checks were from Senior Resource Connection for clients sent to Clark’s Boarding Home. Senior Resource Connection is a nonprofit that provides support services for seniors, adults with special needs and their caregivers throughout the Miami Valley, according to the organization’s website.
A Dayton police department report from last November shows Susan Spencer, supervisor of financial services for the nonprofit, told police that Clark’s Boarding Home double-cashed rent checks from Senior Resource Connection four times in 2014, totaling $2,652.
“It appears from the copies of bank documents that the check was initially deposited and then a few days later taken and deposited at a ‘Check ‘n Go,’ ” the police report says.
A call to Spencer to ask about the case was not returned.
Clark said in an interview that she plans to appeal the ruling by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to suspend her license.
Montgomery County property records show The Huntington National Bank purchased the property in March from KL Clark Property Management LLC.
“The facility is not closing,” said Clark, who said another entity is taking over the business.
When asked about the theft charges in Montgomery County, Clark said they were against a different Karen L. Clark. Both the Montgomery County case and the one in Delaware County, however, list the same name, mailing address, birthday and affiliation with Clark’s Boarding House.
State business records say the trade name Clark’s Boarding Home was canceled in May for failure to file required paperwork. The trade name was controlled by K& J Adult Day Care, which has a business license listing Karen Clark as its statutory agent.
Ann Stevens, a spokeswoman with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Montgomery County, said the residents at Clark’s Boarding House will be cared for if the facility closes.
“They all have case managers who will work with the providers to find housing and whatever else they need,” she said.