‘Ripe for fraud’: Multicounty Grand Jury releases interim report on Epic Charter Schools investigation | KFOR com Oklahoma City

‘Ripe for fraud’: Multicounty Grand Jury releases interim report on Epic Charter Schools investigation | KFOR.com Oklahoma City

‘Ripe for fraud’: Multicounty Grand Jury releases interim report on Epic Charter Schools investigation

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The multicounty grand jury investigating Epic Charter Schools has released a scathing interim report of its findings following the state’s audit report against the school.

According to the report, “Due to the lack of transparency in accounting for the funds, intentional avoidance of disclosure of information by a private entity, and lack of cooperation; the investigation is unable to be completed at this time.”

State auditor spells out questionable practices by Epic Charter Schools for Oklahoma school leaders 

The concerns from the Audit Report and the subsequent investigation by the Multicounty Grand Jury can be summarized as:

• Lack of oversight
• Lack of transparency in operations
• Lack of accountability by for-profit company Epic Youth Services

By failing to provide appropriate oversight, the entities responsible have allowed significant public funds to be diverted into private accounts without transparency. The public has not been served by the incestuous relationship between the for-profit vendor, Epic Youth Services, and the governing board Community Strategies. The system has failed to provide accountability and allowed a company to take advantage and generate a substantial personal profit on the backs of Oklahoma students. This is especially offensive at a time when Oklahoma students and parents are struggling with the weight of the pandemic and its effects on our students’ education and wellbeing.

This interim report focuses on the for-profit vender, Epic Youth Services LLC (EYS).

“The incestuous relationship between the board and a private vendor has resulted in a lack of independent oversight,” the report states. “As designed, this system is ripe for fraud.”

From 2015 to 2020, Epic Charter Schools received more than $458 million in state and federal funds as a  CONTINUE READING: ‘Ripe for fraud’: Multicounty Grand Jury releases interim report on Epic Charter Schools investigation | KFOR.com Oklahoma City

Democracy Prep’s Fiscal Tottering | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Democracy Prep’s Fiscal Tottering | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Democracy Prep’s Fiscal Tottering

In March 2019 and October 2019, Democracy Prep charter chain founder and former employee Seth Andrew stole a total of $218K from three Democracy Prep escrow accounts. He was able to do so because two years after leaving Democracy Prep (in 2017), Andrew still had access to his school email account and could falsely portray himself as still associated with the charter chain. Andrew also still had access to the escrow accounts because he remained listed on documentation related to those accounts. Finally, given that Andrew was able to steal funds from the third escrow account five months after he depleted the first two accounts, it is obvious that Democracy Prep officials failed to adequately monitor all of the chain’s bank accounts.

In my May 01, 2021, post on the situation, I surmised that Andrew may have believed that Democracy Prep would not competently monitor its finances, thereby causing him to believe that he could get away with the theft. Indeed, the complaint against Andrew details the passage of 14 months from the first thefts (March 2019) to the maturing of a six-month certificate of deposit (CD) that Andrew purchased using the stolen funds (May 2020).

To lock that stolen money up for six months and patiently wait for it to mature demonstrates a level of certaintly that no one would be coming for that stolen cash.

Examination of Democracy Prep’s tax forms from 2007 to 2018 shows that the charter chain struggled to manage its money and to keep a positive balance CONTINUE READING: Democracy Prep’s Fiscal Tottering | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Carol Corbett Burris: Why Do Charter Schools Get Away with Massive Fraud? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Carol Corbett Burris: Why Do Charter Schools Get Away with Massive Fraud? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Carol Corbett Burris: Why Do Charter Schools Get Away with Massive Fraud?

Carol Corbett Burris was a teacher and principal on Long Island, in New York state for many years. After retiring, she became executive director of the Network for Public Education.

She writes:

Last spring, HBO released Bad Education, which tells the story of how a Roslyn, New York Superintendent named Frank Tassone conspired to steal $11.2 million with the help of his business officer, Pamela Gluckin.  Promo materials called the film “the largest public school embezzlement in U.S. history.”

I did not watch it. I am waiting. I am waiting for HBO to release a movie on how a crafty fellow from Australia, Sean McManus, defrauded California taxpayers out of $50 millionvia an elaborate scheme to create phony attendance records to increase revenue to an online charter chain known as A3. 

Or the documentary about the tens of millions that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) owes taxpayers for cooking the books on attendance. Or CONTINUE READING: Carol Corbett Burris: Why Do Charter Schools Get Away with Massive Fraud? | Diane Ravitch's blog