A Mingo County grand jury this week handed up a 30-count indictment charging Robert Hodge, an assistant basketball coach at Tug Valley High School, with multiple felonies tied to donations raised for the school's basketball program. The Mingo County Sheriff’s Office said Hodge was arrested Friday; he has since been released on bond.
The indictment covers alleged conduct from April 2021 to December 2023 and lists one count of money laundering, two counts of fraudulent schemes, two counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, 12 counts of unauthorized access device, and 13 counts of computer fraud.
Prosecutors say the alleged scheme centers on $5,990 that had been raised for the Tug Valley High School basketball program. According to the charges, the money was deposited into the Panther Pride bank account, then withdrawn by Hodge and directed into a business account for a grocery store he owned. The indictment also alleges fraudulent purchases at stores, restaurants and online retailers.
The Mingo County Board of Education issued a brief statement acknowledging the indictment. "The Mingo County School District is aware of the recent indictment involving an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Tug Valley High School," the board said. "The allegations outlined in the indictment are, to say the least, deeply concerning and alarming." "Because this is an active criminal matter, no further comments will be issued by the school system," the board added.
Mingo County Schools separately said it is monitoring the situation and cooperating with investigators. The district’s public response underscores the practical stakes: the indictment concerns money raised for students and held in a team account, and the school system has told the community it will work with law enforcement and other appropriate authorities.
The case contains built-in friction. Hodge is free on bond while prosecutors allege he rerouted funds intended for student activities into a business account he controlled. That detail — a man once tied to the program now accused of diverting modest donations — helps explain why the county board called the charges "deeply concerning and alarming."
The record supplied by the grand jury and the sheriff’s office gives a detailed list of criminal counts and a timeline, but leaves key procedural questions unanswered. Local officials have not released whether Hodge has entered a plea or when his next court appearance will be scheduled.
The most consequential unanswered question now is procedural: when will Hodge be brought before a judge for arraignment and how will prosecutors proceed on the 30-count indictment. Until a court date is set and the defense responds, the criminal allegations — and the district’s promise to cooperate — will be the principal facts the community must weigh.
