An Ohio judge is determining whether or not two retired teachers' pension fund leaders should be punished for allegedly participating in a corruption scheme, but investigations into the men are still ongoing.Franklin County Cour t of Common Pleas Judge Karen Held Phipps is set to decide if State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) board chair Rudy Fichtenbaum should be removed from his position, and if he and former board member Wade Steen should be banned from ever returning to public pensions."It's an erosion of confidence in the institution that safeguards retirement security for Ohio's teachers," Assistant Attorney General Chad Kohler said during the trial.The scandal centers on Steen and Fichtenbaum and their relationship with startup investment firm QED Technologies, run by former Ohio Deputy Treasurer Seth Metcalf and Jonathan (JD) Tremmel."What I was trying to do was to provide benefits that were promised to planned beneficiaries that were taken from them, like the cost of living adjustment and reduce expenses when we had excessive investment costs," Steen testified.Attorney General Dave Yosts team has submitted its closing argument on a case weve been uncovering for years an alleged $65 billion scheme inside STRS."The question at trial was did they violate their fiduciary duty to the retired teachers, and I think we unquestionably proved that and proved it over again," Yost said in a one-on-one interview in mid-December.How we got hereIn May of 2024, the governor received a 14-page anonymous whistleblower memo alleging a massive public corruption scheme brewing and moving quickly within STRS. In 2020, Metcalf and Tremmel set their eyes on STRS, according to the document.The documents claim that they tried to convince STRS members to partner with them and provide them with $65 billion.Steen and Fichtenbaum had allegedly been bidding continuously, pitching QED's direct documents to board members and proclaiming the company's talking points to other staff.All of this failed, and finally, a whistleblower reached out to state officials.Days later, Yost filed a lawsuit to remove Steen and Fichtenbaum from the board, stating they were participating in a contract steering "scheme" that could benefit them. Yost started the investigation after the memo, now known as being prepared by STRS employees, alleged that Steen and Fichtenbaum had been bidding on QED.For more of an in-depth recap, please click here."Their promotion of QEDa two-person startup with no clients, no assets under management, no track record, no infrastructure, and personnel lacking sufficient experiencewas not only a lapse in judgment," Kohler wrote in his closing. "It was a calculated campaign that disregarded fiduciary obligations, subverted board governance, and jeopardized the financial future of over 500,000 current and retired educators."The state said that Metcalf worked behind the scenes to try to illegally secure the deal, pointing out concerns that the board members were too close to him.Communications obtained via a records request of a court filing reveal that QED associates consistently told then-board member Steen what questions to ask, gave him documents to propose, and pushed him to follow its plan.To read what the texts said, CLICK HERE.Fichtenbaum joined the conversations, too."We're trying to explain their idea," Fichtenbaum said.However, the defense argued that seeking advice isn't a crime, and they were simply trying to get better financial returns for educators. They also had a focus on increasing their cost-of-living adjustments. Key witnesses testify in Ohio retired teachers' pension fund corruption caseRELATED: Key witnesses testify in Ohio retired teachers' pension fund corruption case"We need a lot of money in order to restore the COLA, no question about that," Fichtenbaum said on the stand.Each of Fichtenbaum and Steens attorneys wrote in their closings that the state didnt prove that they would gain anything financially from this, and no harm was done because the proposal never went through.Both also adamantly said that they never really proposed $65 billion. This was disputed by the state.Below is a recording of the contentious meeting: Ohio teachers pension fund board member resigns amid controversy, archived meeting proves AG isn't lyingRELATED: Ohio teachers pension fund board member resigns amid controversy, archived meeting proves AG isn't lying Fichtenbaum's lawyer, Richard Kerger, added that there is no rule about asking questions that someone else submitted, nor was it harmful that Metcalf was getting access to confidential documents."There is no indication that any harm whatsoever occurred from that," Kerger wrote. "And it is quite likely the information was not entitled to the confidential stamp." Ohio teachers' pension fund corruption trial beginsRELATED: Ohio pension leaders accused of corruption face state in first day of trialThen, the attorney added that in the case Fichtenbaum had done something wrong, being removed from his role wouldn't be appropriate because that isn't fair to the educators who elected him. Ohio educators to remain on STRS as court upholds block on board changesRELATED: Ohio educators to remain on STRS as court upholds temporary block on board changesSteen's attorney, Norm Abood, argued that the former board member was a "hero" to pensioners, stating that this has been a sham case."'I'm going to do a thorough and impartial investigation,'" Abood said, imitating Yost. "And [Yost] filed five days later, that's when he filed this case. No investigation."The attorney general had been criticized by the defendants for the quick turnaround time."Do you regret moving so fast when it came to filing a lawsuit?" I asked Yost."Not at all... Every defendant I've ever prosecuted, civilly or criminal, has either said that I had improper motives, didn't do the investigation right, screwed something up," Yost said. "That's what defendants do."This is just a civil case, but the Ohio Ethics Commission has been investigating for at least a year and a half. They would be able to refer criminal charges.It's not Yost's jurisdiction, he said, but it may be warranted."I do think they acted unethically," the attorney general said.The OEC is unable to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, but we obtained subpoenas that the commission sent to witnesses."It's not unusual for them to let independent legal processes work out before they duplicate a process," Yost said.Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. ...read more read less