Three candidates are vying for the position of Deerfield Township trustee: Laura Lindberg, Stephanie Barringer and incumbent Mark Bann. One of them, Lindberg, in June settled a civil lawsuit accusing her of embezzling from her own mother’s estate, according to Portage County court records.
Lindberg, the daughter of the late Doris Carver and former township zoning inspector Jesse Carver, was sued by her brother in January 2021 and found guilty by a probate judge the following year.
She and her brother subsequently settled the case, and no criminal charges were ever filed.
According to the initial complaint, Lindberg and her brother Larry Carver were originally the co-beneficiaries of their mother’s estate after she died Nov. 5, 2019. Also according to the complaint, until her mother died, Lindberg held power of attorney over her mother’s finances.
Portage County Probate Court entries indicate that in early 2021, facing a court proceeding to remove her as executor, Lindberg resigned her role and the court appointed her brother to administer the estate.
Two days later, on Jan. 15, 2021, Larry Carver filed suit against his sister and her husband, Brian Lindberg, alleging that they had concealed estate assets, converted or misappropriated them, unjustly enriched themselves, and otherwise acted in bad faith.
According to Larry Carver’s complaint and amended complaint, his mother gave Lindberg power of attorney over her finances on Nov. 8, 2016. The following month, Doris Carver transferred her four parcels of land — the family farm — to Lindberg, with a sale price of zero dollars. The complaint alleges that Lindberg and her husband had exercised “undue influence” over Doris Carver, who was “obviously confused” and suffering from dementia.
The court ultimately agreed. In its April 29, 2022, verdict and decision, Judge Thomas A. Swift determined that Doris Carver “was in a state of progressive cognitive decline from dementia. She was forgetful, apprehensive, confused, and anxious about living alone. As a result, Doris became vulnerable and susceptible to undue influence.”
Lindberg denied the allegations in court records, saying her mother transferred the land to her but not through any coercion. She also denied misusing funds. In an interview with The Portager, Lindberg characterized the lawsuit and settlement as a family dispute with no criminal charges that should not affect her campaign. And one sitting trustee vouched for Lindberg’s character.
County elections officials and prosecutors said the lawsuit does not disqualify Lindberg from seeking office. But Barringer and the two other sitting trustees said voters would have to weigh Lindberg’s court record in the ballot box.
“I don’t know if I feel comfortable putting someone who’s been [found guilty] of embezzlement and concealment in probate court into a position of financial responsibility for my township,” Barringer said.
Disinherited sibling files suit
Craig Conley, Larry Carver’s attorney, said that on Aug. 3, 2017, Doris Carver signed a new will giving Larry the mortgage on the four parcels of land and half of whatever other assets existed.
The problem, Conley said, was that Lindberg claimed the estate had only a junk car and a few thousand dollars in a checking account. There was no mortgage, and Doris had gifted the land to her daughter in December 2016, meaning her son was effectively cut out of the will, Conley said.
“I had a right to my inheritance. It’s as simple as that,” Larry Carver said in an interview. “The original will stated that we both get everything and that we both own everything. I just wanted my half of the inheritance.”
Years of legal wrangling followed, including an April 29, 2022, Portage County Probate Court verdict that found that Laura and Brian Lindberg had used Lindberg’s power of attorney, their influence over Doris Carver, and then Lindberg’s position as executor to extract money from Doris and her estate.
“[Brian] knew that Laura had deposited amounts of Doris’ money into his joint checking account with Laura,” Swift wrote. “Both he and Laura used Doris’ money for their personal benefit.”
Taken together, the sums due to the Carver estate topped $1 million, Larry Carver’s complaint alleged. At one point he cited Ohio law setting triple damages for her misdeeds at $2.55 million.
On June 23, 2023, the parties agreed to a settlement: Lindberg and her husband would reimburse the Carver estate an additional $100,000 over what they had already been ordered to reimburse. She also agreed that Larry would be the sole recipient of the balance of the estate checking account, a sum totaling $417,000.
Larry Carver said the estate has paid him in full — $517,000 — but that he wasn’t completely satisfied with the outcome.
“I just got tired of being in court for three years,” he said.
Lindberg’s response to allegations
Lindberg’s response to her brother’s complaint, filed March 30, 2021, by her then-attorney Ralph Megargel, stated that Larry Carver had failed to state a case upon which relief could be granted when he alleged she and her husband had “concealed, embezzled, or conveyed away” real and personal property estimated at $850,000.
Lindberg said that Doris Carver had conveyed the four parcels of land to her, but denied she had acted under “undue influence.” The document states that she had paid $281,250 for the four parcels, and had deposited the sum into the estate checking account.
She denied having exercised undue influence over her mother, causing her to write her checks and electronic payments totaling $10,000, according to the response. She also denied having made personal use of $81,192 of her mother’s money, and of having defrauded the estate.
She denied that her estate inventory was “grossly understated” at $285,493, along with other denials, according to the document.
“The civil suit between my brother and I has nothing to do with the township,” Lindberg said in an interview with The Portager.
Lindberg’s current attorney, Daniel Keating, could not be reached for comment.
While Lindberg was adamant that she would “not run a smear campaign” against her opponents, she alleged that they both have criminal histories in Portage County and surrounding areas.
Searches of court records in Portage, Stark and Mahoning counties turned up a 2014 case involving Barringer pleading guilty of a minor misdemeanor charge of failing to keep her dog properly confined (Portage County) and Bann having been found guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor charge of criminal damaging or endangering in 1994 (Stark County).
Barringer acknowledged the charge, and Portage County court records indicate she paid no fines or court costs. The dog, Max, was something of a neighborhood pet who was difficult to contain, she admitted.
Bann said the criminal charges against him were some 30 years old and involved a situation where he had let his brother live in an apartment he rented. He said he had never switched the name on the lease, so the damages accrued to him, not his brother.
Stark County court records reflect that Bann paid $285 in restitution and served no jail time. Bann also has records in Portage County court related to dissatisfied customers in his boat sale business. One case is pending; two others are closed.
Lindberg then pointed to civil cases filed in multiple counties against her opponents: matters ranging from money and damage complaints to liens.
Barringer said the judgment liens stemmed from a $27 medical bill she was not aware of and has since paid. A $6,943 medical bill from Alliance Community Hospital in 2010 was also paid, she said.
“I have no judgment liens, tax liens or foreclosures. Those also have to do with handling money and being fiscally responsible,” Lindberg said.
Again highlighting the fact that she was not charged criminally, Lindberg said she maintains a clean FBI/BCI background check or she could not work as a custodian in Waterloo schools.
The choice goes to voters
Both Conley and Portage County Prosecutor Vic Vigluicci said they are of the opinion that since Lindberg was not found guilty in a criminal proceeding, she may hold public office. The question came up when Deerfield Trustee Ed Dean said he contacted the Portage County Board of Elections to determine if Lindberg could run for office.
Board of Elections Director Faith Lyon said the board only determines if a person is eligible to run for office, not if they are able to hold office. She said she referred the matter to the county prosecutor’s office for review.
Stipulating that she was speaking for herself, not for the trustees as a whole, Deerfield Trustee Tiffany Havens lauded Lindberg’s moral character and said she had served as a community volunteer for years.
Even if Lindberg has the green light to hold office, Bann said the people of Deerfield may still be uneasy.
“The judge determined that she was lying. If you’re going to steal from your own family … that’s my concern,” he said.
Barringer said she had reviewed some of the court documents pertaining to Lindberg’s legal entanglements.
“I’m not a believer of spending other people’s money,” Barringer said. “I read that she was found guilty of embezzlement and concealment, and the settlement made sure that there were no criminal charges attached.”
Dean echoed the candidates’ concerns about Lindberg.
“She would have to sign checks for the township. It’s a big controversy. It’s pretty serious. I would think the citizens of Deerfield would be pretty concerned about that,” he said.
Assistant Fiscal Officer Nancy Cowan said that as a trustee, Lindberg would not handle public money. She would only sign checks the fiscal officer created, and that would be done in open, public meetings.
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Doug Kehres was Lindberg’s attorney. He was in fact Doris Carver’s attorney. We have removed that line from the article.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.