Former D.C. charter board CFO promoted private companies that allegedly paid him
As the D.C. Public Charter School Board’s chief financial officer, Jeremy L. Williams was responsible for monitoring charter schools’ business practices and ensuring their compliance with rules meant to prevent financial mismanagement.
Instead, he allegedly received $150,000 to help three former managers of Options Public Charter School evade those rules and take millions of taxpayer dollars for themselves, according to a pending civil lawsuit.
Williams and the other defendants in that lawsuit have denied doing anything illegal.
But e-mail messages The Washington Post obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request show that Williams used his official capacity with the charter board to help the former Options leaders promote two for-profit businesses that allegedly served as vehicles for diverting millions of dollars in taxpayer funds meant for students.
“Thanks for assisting with the presentation yesterday,” David Cranford, one of the Options officials, wrote in March 2013, referring to a meeting Williams hosted for business managers from the city’s charter schools. On the agenda was a chance for the Options managers to pitch their company’s Medicaid-billing services, which they argued could help schools recoup some of their special-education costs.
“Your involvement definitely opened up a lot of opportunities to work with other charters,” Cranford wrote.
“No problem chief!” Williams replied, according to e-mail records. “More opportunities looming. For certain.”
Williams’s lawyer, Troy W. Poole, declined to comment. Williams did not Former D.C. charter board CFO promoted private companies that allegedly paid him - The Washington Post: