Former Ohio Senate candidate sentenced to federal prison for $4.5M fraud scheme

A 45-year-old man who embezzled millions from his employer and a local fraternal police organization—to fund a lavish lifestyle and his election campaign—has been sentenced to prison.

Jonathan Leissler, of Stow, Ohio, has been sentenced to 48 months (four years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker, after pleading guilty in December 2025 to three counts of Wire Fraud. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,421,154.54 in restitution.

According to court documents, in March 2022 Leissler was hired as the chief financial officer for an industrial supply company in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. In this role, he was entrusted to manage payroll, expenditures, accounts payable, and company credit cards. However, in his first month on the job—and despite already receiving a six-figure salary—he created fake payroll records to add unauthorized extra money to his paychecks in the form of bonuses, commissions, and other payments. Investigators determined that by November 2024 he stole $3.8 million across 70 pay periods.

While Leissler continued to add unauthorized payments to his paychecks, he was also using the company’s credit cards to make donations to his own election campaign in his bid for a seat on the Ohio Senate during the November 2024 general election. He utilized an online fundraising platform to collect more than $700,000—charged on the company’s credit cards—toward his failed election campaign. When his employer confronted him about the credit card charges, Leissler processed refunds from the fundraising platform. However, the online platform was left on the hook for refund amounts because he had already changed the bank connected to the account to a different one that did not exist.

Another source of funds Leissler accessed was through a local Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) organization. While serving as their treasurer, he was issued a debit card and checkbook for the FOP account, which he then used to write checks to himself, withdraw cash, and pay his personal credit card bills. Ultimately, he stole more than $50,000 from the FOP on 69 separate occasions. The amount accounted for 80% of the organization’s funds which had been earmarked to provide scholarships for the children of police officers.

Federal investigators learned that Leissler used the embezzled funds to live an extravagant lifestyle. He traveled by chartered private planes and bought a vacation property in South Carolina. He also used funds to pay for mortgage payments, credit cards, vehicles, cryptocurrency mining equipment, and start a business.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division.

Assistant United States Attorney Megan R. Miller for the Northern District of Ohio led the prosecution.