All six of the defendants are charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. Funds allocated for education should be spent to educate our public school students. Hubbard, originally sentenced to four years for violating ethics laws, has been in the custody of the ADOC since September 2020. Tutt will pay $259,000. Former Athens City School superintendent pleads guilty to defrauding state, Will Dismukes found guilty of first-degree theft of property, Alabama Supreme Court upholds removal of Talladega probate judge. Six of the defendants in the lawsuit former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, his wife Deborah Holladay, ACS Director of Planning Rick Carter, former Limestone County Schools . As a result of the fraudulent reporting the school systems received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. Wednesday, March 15, 2023 Print Edition St. Patrick's Day in Athens A Tuscaloosa County man mentioned more than 150 times in a federal indictment involving four local former educators received more. He left Limestone County Schools to become the director of Bristol, TN schools. ", 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. Trey Holladay. Additionally, any defendant convicted of aggravated identity theft could receive a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence on each count. STEALING FROM THE STATE: Ex-superintendents indicted in multiyear You can email him at [emailprotected] or follow him on Twitter. Sentencing is expected next year. The public schools in those counties are made up almost entirely of Black students. As a result, the private schools obtained funds that they were not lawfully entitled to receive.. Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. She says following the statement, the board unanimously voted to keep Rick Carter on administrative leave. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, one of six defendants indicted on federal charges of conspiracy in the scheme, is charged with conspiracy and 88 counts of wire fraud. Jul. The Board says they will begin the process and timeline for posting and selecting a new superintendent within the next few weeks. These sentences may seem severe, but they are in accordance with the severity of the criminal acts these individuals committed.. Published on May 25, 2021 at 2:25 pm CDT. The defendants in this case prioritized their own profits over the education needs of our students. Trey received a master's degree degree from West Alabama . Former Athens, Limestone superintendents face federal conspiracy, fraud All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Thompson noted that all of the private schools utilized in the scheme were located in the Black Belt region. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross, Alice S. LaCour, and Brett J. Talley are prosecuting the case. Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr., who headed up the Athens online school, is set for trial on February 7, 2022. According to the indictment, the defendants obtained student identities to use in their scheme from various private schools located across the stateparticularly private schools in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Because the jury found the state proved certain aggravating circumstances, Dismukes could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. There is absolutely no way that we would do anything detrimental to the school system. The Athens City Board of Education voted 5-2 Wednesday to hire William "Trey" Holladay as superintendent contingent on contract approval. According to court documents, education records will not be disclosed to the public, however, they will only be shared with those involved in this case. The investigation remains ongoing and confidential at the request of federal officials. While the school system was mentioned in the indictment brought in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the indictment does not name the Limestone County Board of Education or anyone currently involved with Limestone County Schools as defendants. 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. Former Athens superintendent Trey Hollaway, who pleaded guilty to his role in concocting a scheme to defraud public schools across the state, will spend the next 60 months in federal prison. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. | And the investigation might not be over. Holladay left the school district months after the FBI started investigating him in 2020. The Board of Education will have a Special Called Meeting on Thursday, February 25, 2021, at 7:30 a.m. in the central office board room. Holladay now faces a maximum five-year prison sentence and has agreed to potential monetary penalties imposed by a judge, according to court records. According to the plea agreement, additional charges of wire fraud and identity theft against Holladay were dropped. The Athens City Schools Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Copyright 2020 WAFF. Holladay was on leave from June 2020 until his last day with the district on Oct. 31, 2020. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. 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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. Jordan Holladay Tristan Hudson Noah Ingle Andrew Kaminsky Stephen Kight Riley McDonald Jake Monroe . In his sentencing order on Thursday, federal judge Myron Thompson noted that the now-felons preyed upon some of the poorest school districts in Alabama, diverting hundreds of thousands of public school dollars from Alabama public schools and sending them instead to mostly white private schools that were operating in predominantly Black counties. Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect. 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. The former superintendent of the Athens City Schools System on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the state by inflating the number of students enrolled in a virtual school. That is completely unacceptable, said Kori Smith, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector Generals Southeastern Regional Office. 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. Terry Holliday - Superintendent - Iredell Statesville Schools - LinkedIn Holladay , . This was accomplished by enrolling full time in-person students into their respective virtual schools. Scholastic Inc. If convicted of the conspiracy charge, the DOJ says that , "Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five ears imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. Corkren will pay $1.3 million. www.acs-k12.org/board. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. LA Unified strike nears; teachers plan to join other workers in protest Former Athens Superintendent William L. "Trey" Holladay III, retired teacher Gregory "Greg" Earl Corkren and former Marengo Academy football coach David "Webb" Tutt are scheduled for. William Lee Trey Holladay, III formally separated from Athens City Schools in October 2020. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Educations Office of Inspector General. Former Limestone County Schools Superintendent Tom Sisk, left, and former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, right. Former Athens City Schools superintendent Trey Holladay was sentenced Thursday afternoon to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a multiyear scheme to. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A spokesperson for the FBI confirms that "law enforcement action" was taken at the home of Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay on Tuesday morning. The Board has not been informed of a date certain for the conclusion of the investigation. The state department told federal officials it had recouped funding from Limestone and Conecuh counties, but did not state the amounts. Board of Education members are elected to a four-year term. Holladays wife, Deborah, was accused in the federal indictment of establishing a bogus consulting company, which the Athens system allegedly paid to locate virtual students. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay and former Limestone County. Dr. Holladay has almost two years remaining on his superintendent contract. You can email him at [emailprotected] or reach him via Twitter. According to court records and information contained in Holladays plea agreement, Holladay and Sisk did so when they submitted to the ALSDE lists of enrolled students who were, in reality, full-time students at private schools located in other parts of the state.. Trial delayed for former Athens City Schools superintendent accused in PRIVACY POLICY | ATHENS, Ala. A former Athens City Schools superintendent and a former Limestone County Schools superintendent are two of the six people listed in a federal indictment involving charges of Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. We will continue to hold high standards at every level from local schools to the state with the expectation that every public school dollar will be spent to support our children., 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. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. Holladay was on leave from June 2020 until his last day with the district on Oct. 31, 2020. Public Invited to 'Spring Into Wellness' Community Health Festival. Now a resident of Montgomery, Holladay pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Alabama State Department of Education. In the court records, federal officials also said they will drop charges against Holladays wife, Deborah Holladay, who initially was charged with six counts of wire fraud. Current Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse released this statement: On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, Limestone County Schools learned it was mentioned in an indictment for involvement with a virtual school program during the 2016-2017 school year. All rights reserved (About Us). NINETY-SIX HIGH SCHOOL. FBI confirms 'law enforcement action' taken at Athens City Schools Over the past months, Athens City Schools has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice as its investigation proceeded. . Former Athens superintendent, two others sentenced in virtual school case Trey Holladay. Upon reviewing the allegations against Dr. Rick Carter, Athens City Schools has placed him on administrative leave until further notice. Those students continued to attend brick-and-mortar private schools each day, continued to participate in private school athletics and their parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. The Dept. Athens had experienced a similar uptick in revenue the last five years. So far, the operators of the private schools have not faced charges for their roles, if any, in the scheme. enewscourier.com . Zwingli and the other reformers showed that engaging in debate about faith was intellectually progressive. David Rothwell Athletic Director at Iredell-Statesville Schools Statesville, NC. Peeples most recently served as an inspector in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. A few years ago, some of the same people excusing Trump's recent indictment were celebrating Gov. 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.. As a result of this, districts received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. Alabama Board of Education Vice President Wayne Reynolds told AL.com that the sentences were justified. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). In connection with the agreements to acquire student information from the private schools, the co-conspirators paid over $600,000 of the money the Athens district received to the participating private schools and their employees and administrators. Tom Sisk, who pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme, will serve 18 months in federal prison. The federal indictment claims that Holladay and his wife were the masterminds behind this plan. The following statement was read by Superintendent Beth Patton: The Athens City Schools community is shocked and very concerned to read Tuesdays release from the U.S. Attorneys office. Former Athens superintendent pleads guilty, settles conspiracy case All rights reserved. Details on the plea agreement were released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Montgomery on Thursday. The indictment also contains substantive wire fraud charges against Trey Holladay, Deborah Holladay, and Carter. This page is not available in other languages. NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 Astronauts Visits Marshall Space Flight Center, Mental Health Awareness Month: Erasing the stigma of mental illness, Athens City Schools approves separation agreement with former superintendent, $250,000 payment, Limestone County Schools Superintendent Tom Sisk heading to Bristol, TN Board of Education. Upon reviewing the allegations against Dr. Rick Carter, Athens City Schools has placed him on administrative leave until further notice. Athens, Alabama. The two superintendents then received state money for the inflated enrollment numbers, which they then kept for personal use, through a complicated system of false report cards, false addresses and false completion reports, prosecutors said. SCHOOL BOARD . Athens school administrator William Richard Rick Carter Jr. was found guilty of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in March.

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