Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s campaign for attorney general donated $12,500 to charity from political contributions it received from Columbus billionaire Les Wexner — $2,500 less than the $15,000 the campaign publicly pledged in late February, according to a pre-primary finance report filed with the Ohio Secretary of State.
The report, filed by Friends of Faber and covering activity through April 19, lists four charitable contributions made on March 18: $5,000 to the State FOP Charitable Fund, $2,500 to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, $2,500 to Akron-based Hope & Healing Survivor Resource Center, and $2,500 to Freedom a la Cart, a downtown Columbus nonprofit that trains survivors of human trafficking for workforce re-entry. The four gifts total $12,500.
In a Feb. 25 Dayton Daily News report, Faber campaign spokesperson Matt Dole said the attorney general hopeful had donated $15,000 “to law enforcement and victim rights charities” from Wexner’s contributions. Previously reported Wexner donations to Faber include $10,000 in 2025 and $5,000 in 2022. The pre-primary finance report does not itemize any separate charitable contribution that would close the $2,500 gap.
Colin Flanagan, campaign manager for Democratic attorney general candidate John Kulewicz, said Thursday that the discrepancy raises questions about Faber’s oversight of his own campaign records.
“Clearly, the Auditor failed to audit his own records,” Flanagan said in a statement. “Actions like this show that Keith Faber is a protector of the powerful. Ohioans deserve an Attorney General who is committed to holding even the wealthy and well-connected accountable. That’s John Kulewicz.”
Wexner, 88, the retired founder of L Brands — parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Abercrombie & Fitch — has drawn renewed scrutiny since the U.S. Department of Justice unredacted FBI documents in February identifying him as an alleged co-conspirator of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein served as Wexner’s personal financial adviser from 1987 to 2007. In a February deposition before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Wexner said he had been “conned by the world-Olympic-all-time con artist,” denied knowing of Epstein’s crimes, and declined to characterize the two men as friends. A legal representative for Wexner has said he was “neither a co-conspirator nor target” of the federal investigation. Wexner has not been charged with any crime.
At least a half-dozen other Ohio Republicans have publicly announced plans to redirect Wexner contributions to charity since the files were released, including U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, State Treasurer Robert Sprague, and Attorney General Dave Yost. Campaign finance records show Wexner has been a donor to Faber’s campaigns across multiple election cycles.
Faber, a Republican, has served as state auditor since 2019 and is unopposed in the May 5 primary for Ohio attorney general. He previously served 12 years in the Ohio Senate, including as Senate president from 2013 through 2016, and two stints in the Ohio House of Representatives. Kulewicz, an Upper Arlington City Council member and longtime Columbus attorney, is endorsed by the Ohio Democratic Party and faces former state Rep. Elliot Forhan in the Democratic primary.
