Jill Riepenhoff
Senior Investigative Producer
Jill is an experienced investigative journalist who spent more than three decades at The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio. Jill investigated, among other things, naughty teachers, predatory mortgage brokers, slumlords, guardians who neglect and steal from mentally incompetent adults, and college campuses where rapes and other violent crimes are hidden. For kicks, she digs into sports and has written extensively about the dark side of youth, high school and college athletics. Her work has won dozens of state and national awards.
Across America, big-time college athletics is a $12 billion industry, in most cases, living beyond its means. Ticket sales, TV deals, sponsorships and other revenue sources don’t bring in enough money to cover the bills. So, universities are filling sometimes massive gaps from their general funds and charging students millions of dollars in mandatory fees to support athletics’ shortfalls.
Wearable floaties are often marketed as learn-to-swim aids for toddlers. Some even carry “Coast Guard approved” language—but parents and researchers worry they can create a false sense of safety and don't teach children to swim.
Home warranties are often popular incentives for homebuyers because they are marketed as protection for when major items break.
Across America, consumer advocates and elder care attorneys are sounding alarms about nursing homes attempting to collect unpaid debts from third parties by sending them to debt collection or to law firms for legal action.
After assisting our reporting behind the scenes for months and supplying medical records, a military physician turned whistleblower goes on the record with InvestigateTV, opening up about his experience working in DHA facilities from coast to coast.
What should you look for when researching nursing facilities? How can you find what you need? Our investigators help you here.
The independence of the federal agency to oversee consumer products and to create safety regulations now is at risk.
Access to feminine hygiene products for women behind bars can be difficult. Many states lack laws or written policies to provide women with unfettered access to all the types of products they would need to manage their menstrual cycles.
Every year, foodborne illnesses sicken 50 million Americans and claim an estimated 3,000 lives. The food safety system is governed by 15 different federal agencies responsible for the enforcement of 30 laws. But that oversight, food safety advocates say, is fractured.
A judge determined that the Trump administration's firing of three commissioners for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission was unlawful and ordered their immediate reinstatement.
In recent years, Consumer Product Safety Commission data shows 333 products were deemed too unsafe for store shelves. How can you find them in your home?
A directive by the White House in May to fire the three Democrats on the 5-member U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has left an untold number of proposed safety rules in limbo.
The three Democrats who serve on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced they were fired by President Donald Trump but say he has no authority to do so.
When a new toy or baby invention hits the market, most parents assume those products have undergone rigorous safety testing. Our investigators found this isn't always the case.
Ahead of Groundhog Day, we put the world's most famous groundhog and America’s other furry, feathered and fabled weather prognosticators to the test.
Our national, months-long investigation into high school athletic associations shows they often wield unfettered power and serve as judge, jury and investigator.
Government inspectors found hundreds of deficiencies related to wandering risks in facilities in multiple states
Parents, consumer advocates, pediatricians and others are sounding alarms about a baby product named in death reports: weighted infant sleepwear.
All-Terrain Vehicles and Side by Sides send about 100,000 Americans to the emergency room every year. Children under the age of 16 riding ATVs have the highest risk for death.
For most patients seeking damages for an injury related to flu, measles, polio and other public health vaccines, the process is well-established and transparent. The process also keeps manufacturers out of legal processes and puts the lawsuits in the hands of special federal vaccine courts. But for more than 10,000 Americans who filed a claim due to a potential COVID vaccine-related injury, the process is slow, secretive and handled by a little-known agency that had only four employees when claims began arriving in 2021.
Recalls of dangerous consumer products can sometimes take months if not years. But even after a recall, similar-looking products remain on the market. InvestigateTV examined toys that had been recalled and similar-looking products that weren't.
The DOD paid out nearly $1 billion in claims, but providers often show clean public disciplinary record
Thousands of children have been injured by ingesting water beads - tiny specks about the size of a cookie sprinkle that expand 100 times their size when exposed to water.
Every year, the CPSC finds thousands of everyday household products for sale online or arriving at shipping ports that fail to meet federal safety standards. It is illegal to sell products in the U.S. that have been banned, recalled or failed to meet federal safety standards.
Many national fraternities have established their own insurance companies that primarily protect headquarter executives, often leaving the burden of cost and blame on the undergraduate members.
