TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The leader of a local nonprofit that aims to help people in prison with societal re-entry through a faith-based approach is facing criminal charges.
A Lucas County grand jury indicted Thomas Ostrosky on April 15 on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft from a person in a protected class, prohibited acts and practices for charities, and telecommunications fraud, records show.
Ostrosky is the executive director of The Lazarus Experience. Ostrosky told 13abc back in 2021 it’s a program that works with incarcerated men to “try to bring them to the lord and create disciples of Jesus Christ within them, and help them through their re-entry transition back into the community.”
The indictments allege Ostrosky defrauded those who donated to the organization and used charity money for personal use. Additional details surrounding the allegations weren’t immediately available.
Our media partner the Toledo Blade reported in 2008 Ostrosky, a former bank manager, was convicted of embezzling more than $155,000 from two Toledo banks. It’s something he previously discussed with 13abc.
“I made some mistakes in my younger years and I’ve done some time in prison and when I got released, through that transition time, I got a college degree through Miami University. I struggled a lot with it — with getting jobs and just getting support — and I know a lot of the guys that were coming out really struggle with that,” Ostrosky said in the 2021 interview.
He said he felt the criminal justice system sets people up for failure.
“I just got through my own spiritual formation. So after I was released in 2014, I was introduced to a church out in Waterville,” Ostrosky said at the time, adding that’s how he discovered a desire to help others coming out of prison.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-04-15 17:37:00
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