When we Ohioans trust a state treasurer with billions of public dollars, we expect integrity, transparency, and independence; what we have in Robert Sprague, however, is a career politician who has blurred the line between stewardship and self-interest. From his financial entanglements with Marathon Petroleum, to his role as a national promoter of Israel Bonds, Sprague has turned Ohio’s treasury into a political slush fund, at our expense.

Since 1993, Ohio treasurers from both major political parties have invested in Israel Bonds, but under Sprague, those investments have ballooned. In 2016, as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Sprague amended the anti-BDS bill, House Bill 476, to double the amount of funds that state and county treasurers can invest in Israel Bonds. 

Since then, investments have increased dramatically, including after October 2023, when Sprague publicly pledged support and millions of Ohio taxpayer dollars to Israel. Ohio went from holding  $167.5 million in Israel Bonds before October 2023 to more than $277 million in September 2025. Israel bonds are not ordinary securities, they are illiquid, meaning they can’t be resold like other bonds; once the money is in, it is locked until maturity.

Even more troubling, Israel’s credit rating has been downgraded by all three major credit rating agencies since the beginning of Israel’s aggression on Gaza, with Moody’s cutting Israel to Baa1 with a negative outlook in 2024, its lowest rating ever. Yields on these bonds spiked above 5%, which is a major red flag in finance, because higher returns usually mean higher risk. Yet Sprague continues to defend and expand Ohio’s exposure.

Why would Ohio’s treasurer be so eager? The answer lies in Sprague’s other job: general chair of the Israel Bonds Government, Industry, and Financial Services Leadership Group. Its mission is to expand Israel Bonds’ reach with state treasurers, corporations, and institutional investors. In other words, Sprague is not just buying these securities for Ohio, he is actively lobbying other states to buy them too.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists uncovered emails showing Israel Bonds’ sales arm pitching Sprague’s office in August 2023. Within 40 minutes, the Treasurer had approved a $5 million purchase. Later that year, Sprague presented an award at an Israel Bonds gala in Palm Beach. These aren’t the actions of a neutral fiduciary; they’re the behaviors of a salesman using his public office as a platform.

The conflicts don’t stop with Israel Bonds; Sprague is a son of Findlay, Ohio, the same small city that houses Marathon Petroleum’s corporate headquarters. Marathon Petroleum’s PAC and employees contributed heavily to Sprague’s campaigns, with more than $26,850 in 2018 and additional checks in subsequent years.

Why does this matter? Because the political overlap is unmistakable: major U.S. oil companies  like Marathon have strategic interests in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern gas. Israel’s continued assault on Gaza, including continued efforts to gain control over offshore gas fields long claimed by Palestinians, only deepens the impression that Sprague’s alliances are as much about fossil fuels and foreign policy as they are about “investments”.

Sprague’s conflicts extend beyond Israel Bonds. He has been named in litigation over double taxation and recordkeeping failures that reached the Ohio Supreme Court . He has been listed as a nominal defendant in House Bill 6 corruption cases, dragged into some of the most notorious public finance scandals in Ohio history. He has also announced that he is running for Secretary of State in 2026, raising concerns that he may use the Treasurer’s office as a political springboard rather than a fiduciary duty.

Every dollar locked into risky, illiquid Israel Bonds is a dollar that could have gone into safer investments, public schools, or infrastructure; every political contribution from Marathon Petroleum raises questions about whose interests are really being served; and every gala, leadership title, or 40-minute approval, erodes the public’s trust in the integrity of Ohio’s treasury.