ViaQuest, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, filed a civil lawsuit on Monday accusing its former top management members and former financial officer of embezzlement. On the same day, the healthcare company also announced successors for these positions.

ViaQuest provides services to more than 20,000 individuals and families in Ohio and Indiana. The company filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, accusing its former CEO and founder Richard Johnson and former CFO Michael Bell of diverting millions of dollars from this behavioral and mental health services provider for personal extravagance.

According to a copy of the complaint provided to CFO Dive by ViaQuest, Johnson founded the company in 1999 and served as CEO until his departure on May 24; Bell, Johnson's son-in-law, served as CFO since 2019 until April 2026. The 119-page complaint alleges that the two, among other fraudulent acts, transferred company funds to an AI startup owned by Johnson, unauthorizedly increased executive compensation, and used company resources to "maintain a lavish lifestyle at ViaQuest's expense."

The complaint states: "After his departure, Johnson even broke into ViaQuest's offices and removed items from company property. Faced with the ongoing misconduct of Johnson and Bell, the plaintiff had no choice but to file this lawsuit."

The complaint alleges that from January 2025 to around March 2026, both the former CEO and former CFO fraudulently used ViaQuest funds to pay or reimburse personal expenses.

The complaint alleges that Johnson used approximately $47,000 in company funds to pay for the lease of his Range Rover, used $41,025 in company funds to purchase Ohio State University football game tickets, and used ViaQuest funds to pay $15,879 in country club dues.

The lawsuit also notes that both Bell and Johnson used company credit cards to pay for golf activities and other personal expenses, and diverted ViaQuest funds to pay for tax preparation services for themselves and their families. Bell also used his CFO authority to pay "unearned bonuses" to his wife Kayla Bell, who served as ViaQuest's Chief Growth Officer.

As part of their scheme, the two executives also fraudulently increased their own compensation. The complaint states that Johnson and Bell received approximately 21% and 25% salary increases in February without board authorization.

The complaint also details multiple instances where the former executives transferred ViaQuest funds to entities affiliated with Johnson. For example, after Johnson's entity Hospice Holdings acquired 100% of ViaQuest's hospice business in January 2025, both the former CEO and former CFO failed to separate the bank accounts of the two entities as required by the agreement.

According to the complaint, Bell instead instructed the company's treasurer to continue using ViaQuest funds to pay Hospice's expenses. An investigation ultimately conducted by Alvarez & Marsal found that the two diverted approximately $12.9 million in ViaQuest funds to pay Hospice's debts.

In another instance, the complaint alleges that Johnson fraudulently used ViaQuest funds to support the development of AI company Cairo/Joco. Johnson served as managing partner of that company and made personal investments that were not disclosed to ViaQuest's board.

In March 2025, after Johnson invested in Cairo/Joco, Bell, in his capacity as CFO, instructed the treasurers of ViaQuest and Hospice to assist the entity, writing in an email: "Just for the startup phase, Rich wants us to handle their books."

The complaint quotes Bell's words in the email: "Honestly, I don't expect the burden on our side to be too heavy, but we need to manage bank accounts, accounts payable, invoicing, financial reporting, and other matters."

Additionally, Johnson directed ViaQuest to purchase services from Cairo/Joco without disclosing his relationship with the company to the board. This includes ViaQuest paying $9,000 to the AI startup for "AI Leadership Series" training, which was provided to Bell and then-Chief Operating Officer Emily Stickley, covering the application of artificial intelligence.

The complaint states: "ViaQuest did not consider other vendors, did not compare Cairo/Joco's training with that of other vendors, did not conduct a bidding process, and did not negotiate the price of the training."

ViaQuest also signed a $10,000 contract with the AI startup for a "proof of concept" project in its behavioral health division, and signed another contract for an "AI Application Program" worth $100,000 per year. The complaint alleges that Bell also transferred at least $239,169 from ViaQuest or Hospice accounts to Cairo/Joco.

ViaQuest has appointed company veteranEmily Stickley as CEO and appointed Emily Wagner as CFO. ViaQuest did not comment on the claims against Johnson and Bell in the lawsuit.