Gulen Charters In Trouble Again
A clout-heavy charter-school firm that operates four taxpayer-funded schools in Chicago is suspected of defrauding the government by funneling more than $5 million in federal grants to insiders and “away from the charter schools,” according to court records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Sun-Times reports that the FBI is investigating "a scheme to defraud federal programs" running back to "at least 2007." The probe is being run out of the FBI's Cleveland office, which would not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
This particular scheme involved the Concept Charter School chain, and involved bringing in E-Rate funds and funneling them to private companies "affiliated with" Concept's chief information officer, including funneling that money through the Bank of Asya in Turkey, a bank alleged founded and operated by Gulen followers.
That information officer has since sort of, well, vanished from the US. But a computer consultant named Stephen Draviam, who worked for Concept until they cur him off and replaced him with other vendors who have "extensive ties" to the charter operators (read any story about Gulen schools and you'll run into the phrase "extensive ties" many times) has apparently talked to them. He may want to be careful about that. Another former Concept official named Mustafa Emanet broke ties with Concept and suddenly found himself arrested in Turkey for heroin possession. He lives in Ohio now.
The story that emerges here is the same one that emerged in the work of reporter James Pilcher of the Cincinatti Enquirer in October of 2014. Folks with Gulen ties open a charter school, staff it with foreign teachers on H-1B visas, and then begin strip-mining US taxpayers. Grant money, state CURMUDGUCATION: Gulen Charters In Trouble Again:
Big Education Ape: Ohio charter schools among network accused of ‘human trafficking’ and teaching Islam - Break New... http://bit.ly/1NXCX4w
Big Education Ape: Gulen charter school network: Overseas Junkets And Charter Schools – Part Two http://bit.ly/1GJLBAU
Big Education Ape: In Blow to Erdogan, Turkish Court Halts Closing of Schools Tied to His Rival - The New York Times http://bit.ly/1QPvu6J
Big Education Ape: Turkish religious movement influence alleged at Ohio school - Yahoo Finance http://bit.ly/1JUvkr4
