BWC: Lost Coin Fund Investments Recouped

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Board of Directors has received an update on the status of the BWC Coin Fund. Administrator Marsha Ryan informed the board that the process of liquidating assets related to the Coin Fund scandal is nearly complete.

BWC has successfully recouped slightly more than the $50 million in original principal investments. Funds were recovered through collections from asset sales, including the sale of rare coins and collectibles purchased with BWC funds. The agency recovered other funds through negotiated settlements. The final large-scale transaction occurred recently with the recovery of $7.6 million from the liquidation of stocks by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC), a coin company in which Thomas W. Noe has an ownership interest.

“The efforts to recover these assets on behalf of Ohio’s employers and injured workers should be recognized as an important accomplishment on the road to recovery for BWC,” said Ryan. “BWC’s investment team, the investigators, lawyers, and liquidators deserve recognition for their diligence and hard work in recouping these funds. Today, we are building upon these recovery efforts and moving forward in our comprehensive, customer-focused reform to fundamentally improve Ohio’s workers’ compensation system.”

BWC expects to reinvest the NGC proceeds in its S&P 500 equity index fund. An additional $2 - $3 million in future settlements is still pending. The estimated cost involved in recovering BWC assets is more than $6 million.