According to the commission, Ratcliff did not report the job offer to the commission, the provision of 3,000 ownership shares to the person, or the “significant monetary settlement” reached after Ratcliff rescinded the job offer.
Ratcliff later offered the same CEO position, along with what the commission deemed unreasonable compensation, to “an individual who owned and operated a lobbying firm.”
That job offer, after initially being reduced to executive vice president, eventually was rescinded as well after the commission determined the person had no gaming industry experience, according to the commission.
The commission filing also includes an email and a calendar entry that puts Ratcliff at the center of an alleged straw donor scheme to funnel money from Centaur Gaming to an unsuccessful 2016 Republican primary election candidate in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District.
The candidate, former state Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, and the alleged bagman, former Spectacle Vice President and General Counsel John Keeler, both were indicted in September by the U.S. attorney in Indianapolis for various federal campaign finance violations.
Ratcliff has not been charged with any crimes. But the commission said his association with Waltz, Keeler and others charged in the scheme is enough to call into question Ratcliff’s suitability to retain a gaming license.