There is absolutely no way that we would do anything detrimental to the school system. The defendants named in the indictment are Dr. William L. ("Trey") Holladay, III, 56, a resident of Athens, Alabama and the former superintendent of the Athens City Schools district; Deborah Irby Holladay, 57, of Athens and formerly employed by the Athens City Schools district; William Richard ("Rick") Carter, Jr., 45, also of Athens, currently Subscribe to EDU for a bi-weekly digest of articles.Privacy Policy, Scholastics blog abouteducation and learning. According to a former lawmaker, the FBI and U.S. Department of Education were asking questions about other possible issues within Alabamas virtual schools as late as this fall. Reporter Josh Moon contributed to this report. All three men will also face three years of supervised release at the end of those sentences and will pay hefty fines. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. I hope that this indictment serves as a warning for others who might try to line their pockets with public funds., Public corruption remains the FBIs top criminal priority because public officials must be trusted to do their jobs with honesty and integrity, stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. The citizens of Alabama should rest assured that the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate corruption at every level and hold accountable those officials who violate the publics trust and use their position for profit or gain., These so-called educators have been charged for preying on the schools that placed them in positions of trust to educate students and the students they promised to serve. The Athens City Schools Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday at 7:30 a.m. According to the indictment, "The purpose of the conspiracy for ACS [Athens City Schools], LCS [Limestone County Schools], and CCS [Conecuh County Schools] to obtain greater statefunding allocations through the Foundation Program than they would otherwise have been entitled to by purporting to enroll into their respective virtual schools students who were in fact full-time students of brick-and-mortar private schools and who were not taking even close to what could be considered full course loads through a virtual education program. You can email him at [emailprotected] or follow him on Twitter. The federal investigation has been ongoing since that time. Carter will be sentenced in August. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. A sentencing date has not been set for Holladay. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. In fact, the indictment alleged, the Holladays were simply being paid for the phony transcripts of private school students. It is located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, and is the third-largest school district in Los Angeles County. Holladay was one of three defendants sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson. In doing so, they stole children and parents identities and bribed administrators of private schools. We appreciate so much the overwhelming support from our friends and community. In the four months that the investigation has been underway, officials within the school system say they have fully cooperated with a federal investigation, and, per the superintendents contract, has continued to pay Holladays salary and related benefits. Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. The public schools in those counties are made up almost entirely of Black students. According to a plea agreement finalized Thursday, Trey Holladay admitted that he, along with Thomas Michael Sisk, former superintendent of the Limestone County Schools system, conspired to. David Cole again takes election challenge to the Alabama Supreme Court, Manufacture Alabama endorses Judge Chris McCool for Supreme Court, Alabama Forestry Association endorses Chris McCool for Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama Forestry Association endorses Twinkle Cavanaugh for PSC president, Alabama-based Strategy Management win three industry awards, Opinion | Educational outcomes not politics should be our top priority, Ivey: Pre-K secretary dismissed due to distractions of different lifestyles, equity, Local agencies receive $4.4 million in grants to weatherize homes, Ivey signs bill setting mandatory minimums for fentanyl trafficking, Economic development bills to focus on rural development, site prep, Week in review: House handles business after passing General Fund budget, Alabama Arise supports Senate bill to reduce grocery tax, Bill filed to ban drag shows in public spaces, Bill targeting shoplifting passes Senate Judiciary committee, Abortion access advocates lobby legislators to support HB17, oppose HB208, Alabamas spring housing market in a unique position, Gov. He left that post in February of 2020. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. First Day of School 2023-2024. Athens had experienced a similar uptick in revenue the last five years. Deborah Holladay is the wife of Trey Holladay and was a teacher employed by the Athens City School District at the times investigated. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Corkren will pay $1.3 million. . The Athens City Board of Education voted 5-2 Wednesday to hire William "Trey" Holladay as superintendent contingent on contract approval. www.acs-k12.org/board. (STOCK) The trial date in a multi-million dollar fraud case against former Athens Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay and two others has been delayed until early 2022. The scheme saw educators steal the identities of students in private schools and then use them to bilk public schools out of millions. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. Defense attorneys filed a motion with the court to delay the trial from its original September start in order to give them more time to . Holladay and his co-defendants offered laptop computers, access to online curriculum, standardized testing and money to entice private schools, mostly located in Alabamas Black Belt, and gain access to those schools students private information, which they used to steal from the state, the press release states. As a result of this, districts received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. In 1995 the school district bought the former Indian Hill Mall, a failing shopping center built in the 1960s, and redeveloped it into an educational, commercial and retail complex called The Village at Indian Hill.[1]. When I was hired as your State Superintendent, I committed to improving education in our state which includes working closely with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure fiscal responsibility and accountability, so every crucial dollar is spent on educating our students, said Alabama State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey. Landon Powell, Matt Williams, Hunter Dilworth, Ryan Brown, Trey Dyson and JK Love. The federal indictment claims that Holladay and his wife were the masterminds behind this plan. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. SCHOOL BOARD . If you want to plan the perfect spring picnic, food and drink are important, but its certainly not the only factor to consider. The Day's Scoop: Your daily email briefing on all things Alabama politics. Ivey announces new record low unemployment rate for Alabama, Small business optimism declines in March, 2022 economic development projects brought record capital investment, Online job ads in February down 12.4 percent from last year, Britt: Kids Social Media Act critical for protecting children, Sewell calls on Congress to reject Republican debt ceiling demands, Britt part of bipartisan effort to regulate kids use of social media, US Sen. Katie Britt: Alabama powering new era of space exploration, In a matter of minutes, the TV news world was upended, Community colleges offer no-cost fiber optic technician training, Ivey forces resignation of Education secretary over woke Pre-K book, Divisive Concepts bill headed back to the House for the second year, While community colleges nationally saw enrollment decline, Alabama bucks the trend, School choice in one of the most segregated, unequal systems in the country, Advocacy groups to rally for Medicaid expansion, New Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences to be established in Demopolis by 2026, Medical associations launch campaign to warn Alabamians of fentanyl dangers, Mental health system faces crises of workforce shortage, uncompensated care, Opinion | Alabama has made progress in rural broadband expansion, but work remains, Opinion | Alabama has a host of outstanding political leaders under 45, Opinion | The firing of Alabamas pre-k secretary isnt fighting anything. After a full review of the situation and the uncertainties of the circumstances, the board of education believes it is both timely and appropriate to make a change in leadership as it is in the best interest of Athens City Schools. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. Others indicted include William Richard Carter, Jr. (Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft), Gregory Earl Corkren (Conspiracy, Aggravated Identity Theft), and David Webb Tutt (Conspiracy). This page is not available in other languages. Retired teacher Gregory Greg Earl Corkren was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and must pay $1.3 million in restitution, and former Marengo Academy football coach David Webb Tutt was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and must pay restitution of $259,000 and a fine of $15,000. This was accomplished by enrolling full time in-person students into their respective virtual schools. of Justice explained in a statement: The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to fraudulently enroll students in public virtual schools and then falsely report those students to the Alabama State Department of Education. All rights reserved (About Us). The defendants named in the indictment are: (1) Dr. William L. ("Trey") Holladay, III, 56, a resident of Athens, Alabama and the former superintendent of the Athens City Schools district; (2) Deborah Irby Holladay, 57, of Athens and formerly employed by the Athens City Schools district; (3) William Richard ("Rick") Carter, Jr., 45, also of All six of the defendants are charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. The students continued to attend the brick-and-mortar private schools each day, they received instruction from employees of the private schools, and, after class, some played sports for their private schools. ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - Former Athens superintendent, William Lee Trey Holladay has entered a guilty plea for a conspiracy charge. Holladays tenure as superintendent will end on October 31. Page 2. The indictment further alleges that the defendants went to various lengths to conceal the fraud from the state.Such lengths included: creating fake report cards, manufacturing false addresses for the students of the private schools who lived outside of Alabama, and submitting falsified course completion reports to the state department of education. School officials have not discussed this matter at the request of federal officials, and will continue to refrain from discussing it. Scoops about Oxford City Schools . The defendants offered the private schools various inducementsincluding computers, direct payments, and access to online curriculumto persuade them to share their students academic records and personal identifying information with the public school districts. ", Public corruption remains the FBIs top criminal priority because public officials must be trusted to do their jobs with honesty and integrity,stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.The citizens of Alabama should rest assured that the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate corruption at every level and hold accountable those officials who violate the publics trust and use their position for profit or gain., Public officials and employees are obligated to perform their duties and administer funds with integrity and according to requirements of the law, said Alabama Attorney General Marshall. ACS would then use, directly and indirectly, portions of the excess money to fund the completion of capital projects, including, the new campus of Athens High School.". 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. As the office responsible for identifying fraud, abuse, and other criminal activity involving U.S. Department of Education funds and programs, ensuring that those who abuse these funds or game the system for their own selfish purposes are stopped and held accountable for their criminal actions is a big part of our mission., Integrity and trust are characteristics of Alabama teachers and administrators. As Attorney General, I am committed to stand together with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated,and that appropriate action is taken.". Pomona Unified School District or PUSD serves approximately 30,000 Pre-K-12 students and 17,000 adult learners at 44 schools in Pomona and Diamond Bar, California.It is located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, and is the third-largest school district in Los Angeles County..
Robert And Michael Bever, Now, Letter To School Board About Coach, Martin County, Mn Beacon, Norwich Bulletin Police Logs 2021, Articles T