The convicted podcaster’s been busy protesting, advocating and stirring up a hornet’s nest of allegations and affirmations of her greatness since a jury deadlocked May 26 in her 12-count felony forgery and fraud trial.

Ford is accused of pulling off a forgery and mortgage fraud scheme that would have netted her $150,000, in all, if she had not defaulted on the loan last year. She used her former name, her ex-husband’s identity and false information to obtain $30,000 in COVID relief money in 2022, after she and her new husband failed to pay the mortgage for three years, according to prosecutors.

After the jury foreman said jurors were hopelessly deadlocked, Erie County Common Pleas Judge Beverly McGookey declared a mistrial. County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter said the state intended to retry the case, and McGookey scheduled a new trial for Sept. 28.

We win, sort of

Ford, her attorney, Peter Pattakos, husband Ezekiel, mentor Elsebeth Baumgartner, and her assorted band of misfit followers aren’t lamenting that the jury was unable to find her not guilty on any of the charges, which included forgery, identity and mortgage fraud, tampering with evidence and records violations. Instead they are doing victory laps, with Ford promoting the idea she won her case while continuing to celebrate her celebrity, promoting myths about her solving crimes, one after the other.

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HURON TWP. — The man attempting to cross U.S. 250 near near Fox Road late Tuesday has been identified Richard Hartnell, 56, Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The accident happened just after 10 p.m.. Hartnell was hit by a northbound Harley Davison motorcycle, operated James Ritzenthaler, 66, Fremont. He was then struck by a Toyota RAV4, operated by Andre Luckie, 35, Norwalk,

Hartnell suffered fatal injuries at the scene. Ritzenthaler received minor injuries and was treated on scene. Luckie was not injured.

The investigation is continuing, the State Highway Patrol said.

The Patrol said he was walking near the RV Park at Fox Road when a motorcycle struck him, and the SUV then struck the man. The man riding the motorcycle declined to participate in a field sobriety test, according to reports.

Check back here for updates.

Police were dispatched to the 1500 block of Pearl St. after getting a report of a man suffering a gunshot wound, Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver said. The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to Firelands Regional Medical Center for treatement but he died from hs injuries.

Tyler M. Cohen, 28, of Sandusky, was identified as the shooter and arrested. Prosecutors authorized the charge, Chief Oliver said.

Attorney Peter Pattakos and co-counsel Maryam Assar will walk into the courtroom to deliver oral arguments on behalf of convicted podcaster Ashli Ford (App. No. E-25-0042). Pattakos is seeking to overturn Ford’s May 2025 convictions in Erie County Common Pleas Court (Case No. 2024-CR-0091) on four felony counts of intimidation. The defense is advancing a sweeping constitutional gamble: that Ford had a protected right to threaten to destroy the reputations and careers of local leaders if she disagreed with them.

Ford demanded that earlier criminal falsification charges against Ford be dropped for false allegations she made against in 2023, according to prosecutors. In all, she’s been criminally charged three times, including the recent forgery and mortgage fraud trial in Erie County. She used her ex-husband’s identity to obtain COVID relief money, according to prosecutors, and obtain a mortgage on a home where she lived with her new husband, who doesn’t work.

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But it’s not for lack of trying.

“If you were one of the jurors on this case, dismissed or otherwise, please note that you are free by law to communicate with us,” a post made Wednesday at the Pattakos firm’s Facebook page states. “We would be very glad to hear from you, as any information you might share with us would help us ensure that the violation of Ms. Ford’s basic rights that has taken place in this case never happens to anyone again.”

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“Jeff Logan,” a pseudonym used by a female supporter of Ford’s who pretends to be a man at Facebook, called out the justice system in Erie County in a post a day before the jury returned deadlocked.

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Tim Becker is Gahanna’s public safety director and a former deputy chief of the Columbus Police Department. Becker explained former Columbus Fire Chief Jeff Happ’s decision to publicly share his abuse helped encourage him to do so as well.

“As a police leader, I often stood in front of cameras and urged crime victims and witnesses to come forward and share their stories,” Becker said. “I hope my example today inspires others.”

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Wilson, during an introductory news conference earlier this month said he would not comment on any pending cases—including the three-year investigation of Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin. State agents began investigating Corbin in January 2023, after a series of news articles in the Sandusky Register about his refusal to help the Dean family amped up public pressure on the sheriff to ask the state to take over the Amanda Dean homicide case.

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“It’s one of the most outrageous miscarriages of justice in American legal history,” Pattakos said, interrupting a morning livestream broadcast at StayTunedSandusky.com. “It’s too bad I wasn’t a practicing lawyer back then or that would have never happened.”

Pattakos delivered that bravado before learning he had failed to secure an acquittal on any of the 12 fraud charges against Ford. Indicted in July, Ford stands accused of a $150,000 COVID relief, mortgage, and identity fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege she forged documents using her ex-husband’s identity, portraying herself as still married to him.

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“We will be re-trying the case,” Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter told Judge Beverly McGookey, who scheduled Ford’s new trial to start at 9 a.m. Sept. 28 over defense attorney Peter Pattakos’ objections.

Pattakos claimed to have a busy trial scheduled coming up and he rejected the judge’s first suggested dates for a new trial. McGookey then settled on Sept. 28, but Pattakos said he has a trial already scheduled in Summit County that week.

“Then you will have time to get a continuance,” she told him.

Pattakos, who earlier in the day offered a lecture about the First Amendment, angrily approached me in an open area outside the courtroom after jurors were dismissed. I asked him for a reaction and instead of providing one he questioned my right to report on Ford’s trial. He suggested I was a drunk from Washington, D.C., and ridiculed the size of my Substack audience. His client, Ford, often boasts about having a big platform and being a major influencer.

As Pattakos was ridiculing me with his rapid fire planned attack on the StayTunedSandusky Substack, Ezekiel Ford, Ashli Ford’s disabled husband, breezed by and bumped or kicked at my computer bag and tripod, mumbling obscenities. Meanwhile, former Norwalk Reflector reporter Terry Burton, who has established an on-again, off-again working relationship with Ford, was snapping photos of the encounter.

Pattakos did not offer any reaction when asked about the jury’s inability to find Ford guilty, or not guilty on any of the charges. Baxter was not immediately available for comment.

Earlier in the day, Pattakos claimed the prosecution 20 years ago of Elsebeth Baumgartner was one of the violations of the First Amendment in history, and suggested if he’d been an attorney then the outcome would have been much different.

“It’s too bad I wasn’t an attorney then,” he said.

Pattakos interrupted an earlier livestream broadcast at StayTunedSandusky.com, at first offering a lesson about the First Amendment but then deciding the Substack audience wasn’t worthy of his time. He did not answer when asked directly if Ford’s practice of making demonstrably false allegations against people she perceives as oppositional to her interests, he deflected. He claimed prosecutorial misconduct and retaliation are the reasons Ford was prosecuted, claims he’s made before in the same manner as Ford makes claims, without evidence.

Later on Tuesday, someone at Pattakos’ office was posting demonstrably false information about Ford’s trial at the firm’s Facebook page.

SANDUSKY — Good morning, subscribers. We are stepping into what is likely to be the most consequential week of reporting on this page yet. As the wheels of justice and the internet move simultaneously, here is our coverage plan for this morning and the days ahead:

• The Verdict Watch: All eyes are on the Erie County courthouse this morning, where the jury is expected to begin deliberations in the criminal trial of Ashli Ford. We are monitoring the courtroom closely and will drop a rapid-response flash update the moment we learn that the jury is returning, with verdicts and reaction coverage followed by a comprehensive evening analysis of the legal ramifications.

• The latest investigation: Following up on our weekend news coverage about Ford’s latest online activities, we are continuing to track the fallout of the newly exposed Norwalk Police “Non-Offense” logs. We are digging deeper into the paper trail connecting the $4,000 extortion text to the exact day the police report was generated, monitoring how law enforcement handles this highly volatile, coordinated campaign.

• The Deep-Dive Retrospective: Later this week, we are going behind the paywall with a newly unearthed 2011 Norwalk Police public records document. This 15-year-old report exposes Ashli Ford’s historical relationship with her family and law enforcement, suggesting that her current methods aren’t a sudden reaction to her trial—they are part of a decade-long operational blueprint. This investigative piece will contextualize exactly why several of her own family members chose to stay the hell away years ago, and all last week during her trial.

Stay tuned, keep your notifications on, and thank you for supporting independent, adversarial journalism that cuts through the social media noise.

But while the felonious podcaster’s future hangs in the balance inside an Erie County courtroom, public records obtained by StayTuned Sandusky suggest the business side of being Ashli Ford is shifting into high gear, and she could be a tool in another alleged extortion scheme.

It’s a case study in how easily a family dispute can be weaponized, laundered through local social media algorithms, and turned into a real-world safety crisis that forces police intervention.

$4,000 ultimatum

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Ashli Ford, the convicted podcaster on trial this week on forgery, mortgage fraud and identity fraud charges, took the witness stand Thursday and disputed earlier testimony, dismissing both her ex-husband and her ex-friend as liars.

Ashli Ford, right, continued staying out of camera shot on Thursday, May 21, 2026, sitting at the defense table with her attorney Peter Pattakos, left, and a law clerk. (Photo/Matt Westerhold)

Her current husband’s uncle, Dr. Eugene “Doc” Sanders, would vouch for her, she said. He was a key witness to the truth about a key piece of evidence, she said. Sanders was superintendent of Sandusky City Schools at the time. Ford said he saw her at the school board offices the day she went there with her ex- to get the documents notarized.

“Where is Dr. Sanders,” Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter asked Ford, incredulous that such a star witness who could vouch for her was not called by her counsel to testify.

On redirect, defense attorney Peter Pattakos also asked Ford about Dr. Sanders.

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“Many of my reactions to her were to keep her from getting angry,” Ford’s ex-husband, identified in court filings as P.B., said, “She gets angry.”

Attorney Peter Pattakos repeatedly attempted to impeach the witness, suggesting that he suffers from mental health issues and was on medication. He’s never been diagnosed with a mental health condition, P.B. said, but it was stressful being married to Ford.

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Ford’s ex…

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