Charter founder facing trial on bank fraud charges
At the start of each academic year, Steven Ingersoll's company took cash advances from the Grand Traverse Academy's bank account as his fee for managing the charter school. By June 30, 2013, school auditors found, Smart Schools Management had accumulated prepayments totaling $2.33 million.
As his liabilities to the school mounted over the years, federal prosecutors say, Ingersoll tried to repay the Traverse City school with proceeds from a bank loan he had received to renovate a building for the Bay City Academy, a second charter he also founded and managed.
Ingersoll is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday, accused of steering $934,000 in loan funds for the renovation project into his own bank account, and sought to use the money to repay Grand Traverse. He is also charged with failing to pay federal taxes on the money. His wife, Deborah Ingersoll, and brother, Gayle Ingersoll, are also charged in the case, which will be heard by U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington at the federal courthouse in Bay City.
If convicted of charges that include conspiracy to defraud Chemical Bank of Bay City, wire fraud and tax evasion, Steven Ingersoll faces up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines and restitution.
The issues raised by his case mirror the findings of an eight-day Free Press series, "State of Charter Schools," that found Michigan's charters receive nearly $1 billion a year in state taxpayer money, often with little accountability or transparency in how those dollars are spent. The June series also found conflicts of interest, insider dealings, and boards that were not aware of their management companies' business practices.
As Ingersoll awaits trial, similar questions of cronyism, conflicts of interest and questionable business practices swirl around his charter schools:
■ Ingersoll was able to advance money from Grand Traverse to his companies without informing the board. Experts say the amount of the advance was unusually large.
■ Shortly before his indictment, the president of the board of Grand Traverse formed a new management company, Full Spectrum Management, to replace Charter school founder facing trial on federal bank fraud charges:
