Former deputy treasurer takes stand in STRS civil trial

Former deputy treasurer takes stand in STRS civil trial

by: Katie Millard

NBC 4 Columbus
October 31, 2025 

COLUMBUS, Ohio  (WCMH) — Three witnesses took the stand Thursday in the civil trial investigating  alleged misconduct on the state teachers’ pension board.

Day four of the trial investigating alleged misconduct on the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) was dominated by the testimony of former Deputy Treasurer Seth Metcalf. Metcalf was a foundational part of private investment firm QED. The state alleges QED was part of a “hostile takeover” of the $90 million teachers’ pension fund.

STRS chairman Rudy Fichtenbaum and former board member Wade Steen  are accused of improperly scheming with outside investment firm QED to transfer control of the pension fund. The fund serves around 500,000 active and retired Ohio teachers. See previous coverage of the STRS trial in the video player above. (Find it here.)

The state believes the pair breached their duty to the board and did not act in the best interest of STRS. The state wants to remove Fichtenbaum from his role and bar both men from serving on future pension boards. Fichtenbaum and Steen maintain they did nothing wrong when meeting with QED. They argue all meetings were above board, and were done to help bring back benefits for STRS members.

Robin Rayfield, a former teacher and lobbyist with the Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association (ORTA), was the first to take the stand Thursday. He spoke about the discontinuation of cost of living increases for STRS members, which he and other retirees attribute to poor pension fund performance. He said Fichtenbaum and Steen advocated for retired teachers, and he was grateful.

Dean Dennis, head of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association and founder of a watchdog group of STRS members, also spoke about cost of living increases no longer being offered to STRS members. He said he thought working with QED would help generate funds to bring back cost of living payments, along with other benefits for the STRS fund.

After quick testimony in the morning, the courtroom diverged into frequent objections and clashes between Steen’s attorney Norman Abood and assistant attorney general Chad Kholer, working on behalf of the state. Professional, if a bit tense, argument between the two surrounded Metcalf’s testimony.

Abood established Metcalf’s long history with finances and Ohio ethical codes, although he was not familiar with STRS’ code specifically. Metcalf said he noticed the STRS board spent more on bonuses than on teacher benefits, and he felt there were discrepancies within pension fund payments. He felt QED offered a strong platform to better STRS’ investments.

Metcalf said he was “devastated” when he heard unfavorable recommendations about the possibility of a QED investment, and was concerned about possible corruption on the board.

Metcalf also discussed a series of Signal chats between QED leadership, Steen and Fichtenbaum. Metcalf testified that he made a general switch from text messaging to Signal to protect against hacking, accounting for the private messages between himself and the board members.

“The FBI had recommended it publicly to American citizens to avoid being hacked,” Metcalf said.

However, the state showed text messages from Metcalf on texting apps that come pre-downloaded on cellphones years after the questioned Signal chats. Metcalf did not recall what led to him using both.

Metcalf’s testimony largely got into the weeds of attempting to partner with STRS on behalf of QED. He felt strongly the partnership would help address his concerns with how the pension fund was being spent and operated.

Metcalf said QED is largely inactive today and would not seek to do business with STRS again.