STEUBENVILLE | Rhode Island Democratic Chair Resigns After Husband Indicted in Alleged $20 Million Eastern Gateway College Theft

Author: FFP Ai Bot

STEUBENVILLE — The chair of Rhode Island’s Democratic Party resigned Tuesday, Oct. 20, about two weeks after her husband was indicted in Ohio in what state Auditor Keith Faber calls the theft of about $20 million from the now-closed Eastern Gateway Community College.

Liz Beretta-Perik sent a one-line resignation email to the party’s executive committee, according to NBC 10 (WJAR) in Providence and the Rhode Island Current. “I am resigning effective today as Chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party. Thank you,” the email said, according to NBC 10. Beretta-Perik has not been named in the indictment or charged with any crime. A day earlier she had written that “this is an Ohio matter and does not involve me,” NBC 10 reported.

The Boston Globe reported that both major-party nominees for Rhode Island governor, Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes and Republican Aaron Guckian, had called on her to step down. “These are serious and concerning allegations. While everyone is entitled to due process, we are weeks away from a pivotal election,” Foulkes said.

The Ohio case

A Jefferson County grand jury indicted three people: Michael Perik of Jamestown, R.I., Beretta-Perik’s husband; Nicole Rowe Colclasure; and Michael Geoghegan, the college’s former chief financial officer and president. The indictment, posted by the Ohio Auditor of State, is stamped as filed in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 7. Faber announced the charges at the Ohio Statehouse on Oct. 8 alongside U.S. Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

According to the auditor’s press release, Perik and Colclasure each face 12 felony counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft of $1.5 million or more, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, bribery, having an unlawful interest in a public contract, receiving stolen property and money laundering. Geoghegan faces nine felony counts. The 24-count indictment covers January 2017 through March 2022.

Prosecutors allege Perik used four for-profit companies he owned, including the Student Resource Center, to divert Pell grants, other federal financial aid and state subsidies through fraudulent reimbursements and illegal incentive payments. Colclasure was president and part owner of the Student Resource Center, according to the auditor. The indictment alleges the companies did not act as independent contractors, as federal law requires, but controlled enrollment, attendance verification, fees and access to financial aid, and that aid was paid out for ineligible students and for students who may not have attended. It alleges Geoghegan knew about the scheme and approved the payments anyway.

“These public resources were supposed to help disadvantaged students in an area of the state where educational opportunities were scarce,” Faber said. “Instead, it appears these individuals took advantage of their positions, and students were left out in the cold.”

Perik’s attorney denies any crime and called the charges “purely political payback,” according to the Boston Globe.

A college that grew, then collapsed

Eastern Gateway, founded in 1968 in Steubenville as the Jefferson County Technical Institute, grew from about 8,500 students to more than 60,000 between 2017 and 2022, according to the auditor. More than 90% took classes only online, and about 80% reportedly lived out of state. Many were enrolled through a “Free College Benefit Program” for union members and their families.

The college lost accreditation and stopped teaching in 2024, and it was formally wound down in September 2025. A November 2025 state audit questioned more than $17 million in costs. The U.S. Department of Education identified more than $44.4 million in liabilities and projected more than $259 million because of the closure and missing records, WTOV 9 reported.

Former Eastern Gateway students can find transcript and federal student aid resources on the auditor’s investigation page.

Michael Perik, Nicole Rowe Colclasure and Michael Geoghegan are charged, not convicted. All charges are allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Video: “RI Democratic Party chair resigns as husband faces fraud charges,” posted by WPRI on YouTube on Oct. 20, 2026.

Sources

https://www.ohioauditor.gov/news/PressReleases/Details/7957
https://www.ohioauditor.gov/fraud/egcc-investigation.html
https://www.ohioauditor.gov/fraud/docs/egcc-indictment-2026.pdf
https://turnto10.com/news/local/liz-beretta-perik-rhode-island-democratic-party-chair-husband-investigation-indictment-ohio-october-20-2026
https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/tag/michael-perik/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/20/metro/ri-democratic-party-chair-calls-to-resign-husband-indicted-fraud-charges/
https://wtov9.com/news/local/grand-jury-indicts-3-in-alleged-20m-theft-from-eastern-gateway-community-college-eastern-gateway-grand-jury-pell-grants-financial-aid-racketeering-aggravated-theft-money-laundering-for-profit-entities
https://www.wpri.com/news/politics/husband-of-ri-democratic-party-chair-indicted-in-20m-college-fraud-scheme/