Terra Lang under D.A. scrutiny

Children returned to father while D.A. probes Lang’s alleged misuse of donations

Update: 2004.08.04

Terra Lang, the Mother of three children, including a 2 year-old boy with pemphigus and head of a charity to raise funds for his treatment, returned her children to their father July 17 after apparently leaving the state to avoid a court order to do so. Lang is now under investigation by Ohio authorities for possible misuse of funds donated to her sons charity.

The problems came to the publics attention after a July 1, 2004 article by reporter Dave Greber of the Fairfield Echo newspaper. Greber reported that the results of a two-week Police investigation were handed to assistant Butler County prosecutor, Lee Oldendick.

Oldendick told the Fairfield Echo, Were investigating possible criminal activity, and we will act upon whatever we receive with due diligence.

According to Grebers article, Lang admitted using over $1600 to pay the familys electric bill.

Greber told Recovery, that there were questions about the authenticity of the diagnosis and the need for expensive Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatments.
Apparently the investigation was sparked when, Joe Nagle, the Principal of Sacred Heart School in Fairfield, couldnt get satisfactory answers from Lang about the diagnosis or the physican treating her child.

The 8th grade class at Sacred Heart had donated $4,249.81 it raised over several months, to the Lang charity. The school has requested the money be returned, but Lang said she wouldnt do so without speaking to her attorney.

Lang gave Nagle the name of Dr. Denise Metry, Chief of the Dermatology Clinic and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Bayolr College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas who successfully treated another child with pemphigus. Dr. Metry acknowledged

that she had seen the child once, but said she had no plans to see him again. Dr. Anita Sheth, at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital was also named by Ms. Lang, but she refused to comment.

The Greber article states that The records for the Jacob Lang Fund were provided to the Fairfield Echo last week by the boys father, Michael Lang. They show 23 withdrawals from April 29 to June 18 in increments as large as $2,000 and as small as $80 many were ATM withdrawals. Michael Lang also provided medical records showing only co-payments for doctors appointments and prescriptions of $5 and $10 at a time.

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